Leaders, innovators, and industry experts convene at TiECon Mysuru 2026, driving conversations on entrepreneurship, collaboration, and future growth

Over three days, the conference will feature more than 35 plenary sessions and 100+ distinguished speakers, exploring how traditional industries and new-age ventures can collaborate to reimagine growth. The event has already attracted strong global interest, with representatives from Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland confirming their participation to explore partnerships with Mysuru’s industry, academia, and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Charter Members from over 10 TiE chapters worldwide will also bring international perspectives and networks to the city.

A highlight of TiECon Mysuru 2026 will be its vibrant startup showcase, featuring 50+ early and growth-stage ventures through curated pitch fests and a dedicated expo. The presence of more than 20 leading investors and venture capital firms—including Nuvama, Chiratae Ventures, Motilal Oswal, Ideaspring Capital, PeerCapital, and BugleRock—underscores the high-quality investment action expected at the event. Complementing this will be a special Industry Pavilion, where 15+ Mysuru-based companies will present globally relevant capabilities across aerospace, precision engineering, digital platforms, and advanced manufacturing.

The speaker lineup reflects the depth and diversity of leadership converging in Mysuru. Among those addressing the conference are Kumar Vembu, CEO of Zoho; Hon. Minister Priyank Kharge; Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar; historian Vikram Sampath; B. V. Naidu; Sanjeev Gupta; Lakshmikanth Reddy; Sudhanva Dhananjaya; and Pavan Ranga, alongside several eminent industrialists and startup founders. Together, they will share insights on innovation, policy, and collaboration.

Bhaskar Kalale, President of TiE Mysuru, emphasized, that the conference aims to lay the foundation for Mysuru’s next phase of entrepreneurial growth. Ram Kevalur, Chairman of TiECon Mysuru 2026, highlighted the role of collaborative efforts with bodies such as CII, ICAI, CFTRI, ICSI and others in strengthening the ecosystem. Industry voices echoed this sentiment, with Pavan Ranga, CEO of Rangsons, stressing the need for deeper collaboration between TiE, KDEM, and local industry, while Sudheer Shankar, Mysuru Cluster Head, KDEM, reiterated the government’s commitment to the ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ initiative.

With global participation, strong investor presence, and industry depth, TiECon Mysuru 2026 is poised to catalyze a new phase of growth and firmly position Mysuru as a high-potential hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

About TiE Mysuru
TiE Mysuru is part of the global TiE network, dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking, funding, incubation, and education. For full information about TiE Mysuru visit www.tiemysuru.org for more information. 

This launch marks a significant expansion of Delta Exchange's ecosystem, catering to investors who seek direct exposure to major cryptocurrencies. Spot trading serves as the ideal entry point, aligning naturally with how most investors approach building their portfolios over time. With seamless INR deposits and withdrawals, users can trade entirely in their local currency, eliminating the need for stablecoins and substantially reducing the barrier to entry for Indian participants.

Users can begin with straightforward spot exposure in BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP, and seamlessly transition to advanced derivatives trading as their experience grows, all within a single platform. Users can also switch between spot and derivatives wallets, and easily see how their trading and investing portfolios are performing.

Commenting on the launch, Delta Exchange CEO & Co-Founder Pankaj Balani said, "Spot trading is the most intuitive way to participate in the long-term growth story of Crypto. Our platform aims to offer Indian investors a seamless, INR-first experience. Whether you are steadily building a long-term position via spot or swiftly reacting to market shifts via derivatives, our goal is to equip every trader with a complete toolkit, spanning from spot to derivatives to algos, all on a single platform."Delta Exchange continues to strengthen India’s crypto ecosystem by offering secure, scalable access and low fees across advanced derivatives products. Other innovations such as Algo Marketplace, API Copilot, alongside its Futures and Options offerings, underscore the platform’s commitment to supporting the evolution of Crypto F&O trading in emerging financial centres across the country.

About Delta Exchange

Delta Exchange is a FIU-India registered cryptocurrency derivatives exchange in India, offering Futures and Options on Bitcoin, Ethereum and 100+ Altcoins, using INR only. Traders can trade Daily, Weekly & Monthly expiry Options on Bitcoin & Ethereum along with Perpetual Futures with seamless INR deposits and withdrawals without any exposure to crypto assets. For each expiry, a wide range of strikes are made available to give traders more flexibility. Additionally, features like Algo Trading, Straddle contracts, API Copilot, Strategy Builder, Basket Orders, and a rich set of analytics tools are provided to help traders succeed.

For further information, please visit: www.delta.exchange.

Disclaimer: Delta Exchange is India's #1 Crypto F&O Exchange based on daily trading volume among Indian crypto F&O exchanges, calculated using internal data. Crypto products are unregulated, highly risky, and may offer no regulatory recourse for losses.

Building Foundational AI Models for Banking in India from India

The round also saw participation from a powerhouse group of fintech veterans and technologists, including Navin Kukreja (Founder, Paisabazaar), Gaurav Aggarwal (former CXO, Paisabazaar), Prasanna Rao (Co-founder, Arya.ag), along with a diverse group of Bay Area angels and also counts leading investors including Brigade REAP, Prarambh Ventures, IIMA Ventures, Inflection Point Ventures on its cap table.

Revolutionizing Secured Lending through AI

The capital infusion comes as India’s financial services sector undergoes a structural shift toward AI adoption in secured lending, risk assessment, and underwriting. With Micro-LAP and secured MSME credit emerging as strategic priorities for Banks, HFCs, and NBFCs, Navanc’s AI-driven infrastructure has moved from a "value-add" to a core necessity for institutional growth.

Navanc provides explainable credit underwriting AI infrastructure designed specifically for Home Loans, Secured Working Capital, and Loan Against Property (LAP). By digitizing and standardizing property diligence, Navanc enables faster, compliant loan origination, automated revaluation, and real-time portfolio monitoring.

Leadership Perspective

“We are excited to partner with Navanc as they build the digital infrastructure layer for India’s secured lending ecosystem. With strong enterprise adoption and clear product-market fit, Navanc is well-positioned to become a category-defining property-credit intelligence platform. We look forward to supporting the team as they scale into a large and enduring financial infrastructure company,” Manish Goel, Founder, Equentis

“The investment from Equentis has come in at the dawn of Navanc’s exponential growth, with our ARR, and client size increasing by 150% and 283% respectively,” said Nagachethan SM, Co-founder and CEO of Navanc. “This additional capital allows us to double down on our vision of building an intelligent, self-improving ecosystem that financial institutions can trust as their foundational risk layer.”

Byom Kesh Jha, Co-founder and CT&DO, added, “Property-based lending requires more than digitization—it demands deep domain intelligence and a strong foundational assessment AI stack. At Navanc, we are building across multiple layers of property assessment, with live use cases already reducing human dependency by 80–90% and turnaround times from days to hours. This funding is a significant milestone for us, enabling stronger R&D and deeper domain capabilities. It will help us move closer to building a scalable, pan-India property intelligence stack.”

Expanding Footprint

Navanc currently operates as a B2B platform, serving over 35+ institutional customers, including Small Finance Banks (SFBs), NBFCs, and HFCs. The newly raised capital will be deployed to:

• Accelerate Product Development: Enhancing the AI-first architecture for deeper property risk insights.

• Market Penetration: Scaling operations to meet the surging demand across the secured credit ecosystem.

• Team Expansion: Hiring top-tier talent across all departments.

About Navanc

Navanc is India’s first AI-native banking infrastructure company, dedicated to transforming how financial institutions understand and manage property-led risk. By bridging the gap between physical collateral and digital underwriting, Navanc is setting the default standard for secured lending in the "Decisive Decade" of Indian fintech.

Based in Mumbai, Middha Ventures will operate as a family office focused on backing high-potential startups across consumer and emerging sectors, combining patient capital with hands-on strategic support.
 

Abhishek Middha- Founder Middha Ventures

Signaling immediate deal momentum, the firm has announced investments in two early-stage startups- Ruskle and Fitreak.
 

Middha Ventures invested in Ruskle, valuing the company at INR 14 crore. Ruskle is India’s first flavored rusk brand, reimagining a traditional $600 million category with innovative flavors targeted at younger consumers.
 

What stood out during the pitch was the brand’s experiential approach, the founders invited the audience to taste the product before presenting, creating an immediate and memorable connection.
 

"They were very intentional in how they built conviction, letting the product speak before the narrative.That kind of clarity, paired with fast execution, is what we look for in early-stage founders," said Abhishek Middha. "They built belief before they built the story."
 

In a separate transaction, Middha Ventures led a round of INR 70 lacs in Fitreak, an emerging fitness and wellness marketplace.
 

Fitreak Founders - Dipti Gupta and Arth Gupta

Fitreak is building a curated, integrated marketplace for fitness, nutrition, and wellness products, addressing fragmentation and trust gaps in the category through curated commerce, AI-led recommendations, and expert-backed content.
 

The investment reflects Middha’s conviction in strong founder-led execution. Middha ventures believe the Fitreak founder returned with rapid validation after initial feedback, onboarding notable brands within weeks and demonstrating clear market demand.
 

"The clarity of thought and bias toward execution stood out. I am not just backing the idea, but a founder willing to build," Middha added.
 

The launch of Middha Ventures, alongside these investments, signals a clear strategy to back founders who combine strong product thinking with differentiated go-to-market approaches.
 

"India is entering a powerful decade of entrepreneurship. We want to partner with founders who are not just building products, but creating experiences and redefining categories," Middha said.
 

Industry observers note that this move reflects a broader trend of traditional business families entering the startup ecosystem through structured investment platforms, bringing long-term capital and operational expertise to early-stage companies.
 

About Abhishek Middha

Abhishek Middha is an entrepreneur-turned-investor who has spent over a decade and a half building businesses in global trade and logistics. As Managing Director of Middha Global and CEO of QShip Worldwide, he has worked closely with international markets, supply chains, and real-world execution challenges.
 

He now supports early-stage founders through Middha Ventures, by backing people first those driven by conviction, consistency, and the ability to build through uncertainty. Abhishek invests with a long-term lens, shaped by the lessons, setbacks, and discipline of building businesses from the ground up.

Novelty Wealth Founders (L–R): Sajal Gupta (CTO), Naveen Changoiwala (CEO), and Apurva Agarwal (CPGO), leading the company’s technology, strategy, and product vision respectively

The funding comes at a pivotal moment as India undergoes a structural shift toward digital, data-driven investment advisory driven by rising retail participation, increased financialisation of savings, and growing demand for transparent, unbiased financial guidance.

Early Traction Highlights

• 30,000+ app downloads since launch

• Strong engagement with NovaAI, validating demand for AI-driven financial guidance

• Early Pro membership adoption trends among users seeking deeper portfolio & Mutual Fund advisory

• Increasing usage of family dashboards and goal-based planning tools

The Problem: A Fragmented Financial Landscape

Despite record retail participation in India's capital markets, most investors still lack a unified, actionable view of their financial lives. Investments are scattered across banks, brokerages, and mutual fund platforms - making it difficult to understand true net worth, portfolio performance, risk exposure, and tax implications.

At the same time, affluent Indians are largely served by commission-driven products, creating structural misalignment between agent incentives and investor interests.

The result: gaps in transparency, trust, and long-term decision-making quality, leaving investors to navigate growing complexity without structured, unbiased guidance.

The Solution: A Purpose-Trained AI Wealth Intelligence Platform

Novelty Wealth is building purpose-trained AI wealth intelligence platform that aggregates financial data across accounts and transforms it into structured, actionable insights. Rather than functioning as a simple tracking or transaction tool, it is designed as a decision-making layer for personal finance.

Beyond portfolio tracking, the platform enables investors to:

• Access purpose-trained AI financial insights via NovaAI - your private wealth advisor, delivering real-time, unbiased guidance, and 24×7 clarity to help you make smarter, more confident financial decisions

• Connect banks, brokerages, and investment accounts automatically through seamless data aggregation

• Evaluate portfolio performance, risk, diversification, and concentration exposure

• Manage finances across entire families from one interface

• Identify tax-efficient opportunities and optimise investment decisions

• Align financial decisions with long-term goals such as retirement, home ownership, or education

​

Novelty Wealth operates on a zero-commission, fee-only advisory model and is a SEBI-RIA licensed, ensuring regulatory alignment, transparency, and recommendations that are always aligned with investor interests.

Founder's Perspective

“Our vision is to make wealth advisory accessible and affordable for every Indian investor. In today’s time, investors juggle across multiple apps and get fragmented information and biased advice. We built Novelty Wealth to solve that problem by giving people a unified financial view and a purpose-trained AI assistant that helps them make smarter decisions with complete transparency. We are seeing a clear shift toward data-driven financial decision-making. Today’s investors don’t just need access to financial products, they need clarity and control,” said Naveen Changoiwala, CEO & Co-founder, Novelty Wealth

Investor Perspective

"We’ve always known AI could transform personal finance, but building the right product requires a tough mix of tech skills, regulatory knowledge, and a deep understanding of what users actually need, i.e., something that works in the background. When we met the founders, we knew they had what it takes to get this right," said Anand Lunia, Founding Partner, IndiaQuotient

Market Opportunity

India's wealth management industry is undergoing a structural transformation, driven by rising disposable incomes, increased retail participation in equities and mutual funds, and a broad shift toward digital-first financial behaviour. However, the ecosystem remains highly fragmented, with limited integration between tracking, advisory, and decision-making tools.

This creates a large, underserved opportunity for platforms that can unify data, provide actionable intelligence, and deliver regulated, unbiased advice at scale. Novelty Wealth is positioned at the intersection of these structural shifts, building a purpose-trained AI financial intelligence layer for the next generation of Indian investors.

Founding Team

Novelty Wealth was founded by a team with deep experience across financial services, technology, and product innovation:

• Naveen Changoiwala (CEO & Co-founder) leads the company vision, strategy, and growth

• Sajal Gupta (CTO & Co-founder) leads technology architecture and platform engineering

• Apurva Agarwal (CPGO & Co-founder) leads product, user experience, growth, and distribution

About Novelty Wealth

Novelty Wealth is a SEBI-RIA licensed firm that has developed a purpose-trained AI wealth intelligence platform for Indian investors. The platform offers a unified view of financial assets and liabilities, backed by purpose-trained AI insights, portfolio analytics, tax optimisation, and goal-based financial planning, all within a zero-commission advisory model.

Novelty Wealth is committed to delivering transparent, unbiased, and data-driven financial guidance, enabling investors to make informed, long-term decisions with confidence.

Website: www.noveltywealth.in.

CEO, CGO and Investors of Fiberise at the launch of product FYBER

The launch comes at a time when consumers are increasingly shifting toward preventive healthcare and metabolic wellness, seeking safer and non-pharmaceutical alternatives to aggressive weight-loss drugs and stimulant-based supplements, particularly as regulators tighten oversight around the promotion of such products in India.

Unlike many conventional products in the category, FYBER is designed around satiety science and appetite regulation. The formulation aims to help users naturally reduce caloric intake by managing cravings and supporting the body’s fullness signals rather than suppressing appetite artificially.

At the core of the product is LEAN-X™️, a proprietary functional ingredient system developed by Fiberise Fit, for which the company has filed a patent application. The technology integrates advanced fiber science with metabolic signalling pathways designed to support sustainable weight management.

The formulation was developed with inputs from clinicians associated with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi to ensure strong scientific grounding and safety.

“The response to FYBER has been extraordinary and validates our belief that consumers are actively looking for safer and more scientific approaches to weight management,” said Professor Diwakar Vaish, Founder of Fiberise Fit. “Our goal is to move beyond traditional supplements and build a new category where advanced functional nutrition becomes a natural part of everyday life.”

The strong launch response highlights a broader shift in consumer behaviour toward preventive health, metabolic wellness, and science-backed nutrition solutions. Industry estimates suggest India’s nutraceutical and functional nutrition market is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years as awareness around lifestyle diseases and metabolic health increases.

Fiberise Fit recently secured significant seed funding to accelerate its growth and innovation roadmap. The company is building one of the strongest intellectual property pipelines in the functional nutrition space, having filed over 16 patents covering a wide range of upcoming metabolic health and functional nutrition technologies, many of which will form the foundation of its next-generation product portfolio.

Several new products based on these innovations are expected to launch in the coming quarters, targeting areas such as metabolic health, energy and focus, sleep recovery, gut health, and performance nutrition. The company also plans to scale distribution across digital health platforms as well as offline wellness retail channels.

Fiberise Fit has set an ambitious goal of building a Rs. 10,000 crore brand within the next 1,000 days, betting on India’s rapidly expanding preventive healthcare and functional nutrition market.

The company was founded by Prof. Diwakar Vaish, a technologist and entrepreneur with over sixteen years of experience across healthcare technology and advanced engineering. He has previously led developments including India’s first indigenous humanoid robot, brain cloning technology, and a brain-controlled wheelchair. He is also the founder of D&D Healthcare, which supplied more than 17,000 ventilators across India during the COVID-19 pandemic.

About Fiberise Fit

Fiberise Fit is a functional nutrition company focused on building science-backed products that integrate health into everyday consumption. The company develops solutions across metabolic health, satiety science, and functional foods aimed at supporting sustainable lifestyle wellness.

Galgotias University student Keshav Madan, B.Tech Computer Science Engineering, founder of AI automation startup Saivyy Technologies

Keshav started his company while studying in 2025 at Galgotias University. The company helps organizations in leveraging the full potential of their data by transforming large, complex datasets into useful, real-time actionable intelligence. The company uses AI, machine learning, and big data technologies to create solutions that provide an ecosystem for improved efficiency, predictive insights, and data-driven decision-making.

Saivyy Technologies Private Limited helps businesses streamline operations, reduce manual processes, and gain insights that support planning and digital transformation. The company works to address the complexities of enterprise data by installing scalable big data infrastructure, machine learning models, automation frameworks, and intelligent workflows into existing systems. Its technology stack blends predictive analytics, natural language processing, and strong data engineering frameworks to deliver high-quality solutions.

Keshav Madan's journey shows how universities can be centers for innovation and entrepreneurship. With solid mentorship, industry partnerships, and incubation support, Galgotias University empowers students to turn their ideas into impactful ventures, As India speeds up its digital transformation.

Companies like Saivyy Technologies highlight the role of young innovators in shaping the country's technology landscape. Galgotias University continues to set benchmarks with such inspiring stories of Galgotian who aim to achieve big.

About Galgotias University 
Galgotias University is among the World’s Leading Universities in Quacquarelli Symonds (QS Rankings) and Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings

Galgotias University proudly ascends in the QS World University Rankings 2026 by Quacquarelli Symonds, securing a coveted position in the 1201–1400 global band. Ranked 15th among top private universities and 43rd among all Indian universities this achievement marks a powerful endorsement of Galgotias’ unwavering commitment to academic excellence, global relevance, and innovation in higher education. Galgotias has also been accredited with NAAC A+ grade in its very first cycle. All this in a record time of 14 years only. 

In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2025, Galgotias University has been ranked 45th among Indian universities (including both government and private institutions) and placed in the globally prestigious 1001–1200 band. This significant achievement reinforces the university’s growing stature in the international academic arena and validates its consistent progress in global higher education benchmarks.

These recognitions reflect Galgotias University’s strategic focus on teaching quality, research impact, internationalization, and industry relevance, and its mission to shape globally competent graduates prepared for the challenges of tomorrow. 

(L-R) Niranjan Mahabalappa, President of NITK Surathkal Alumni Association, Prof. Ravi B, Director of NITK Surathkal and Prof Prasanna Belur, Dean Alumni & Corporate Relations

Over 350 founders, 200 C-level executives, 100 angel investors and 60 startups, made this meet one of the largest innovation events hosted by a global alumni network in India. The summit exhibited the caliber, reach, and entrepreneurial power of NITK alumni across industry, globally.

Prof. Ravi B, Director of NITK Surathkal, said, "We are proud of NITK alumni who have set high standards for professionalism and success in a variety of fields ranging from manufacturing and sports to defense and public service. Their stories are inspiring and their experiences are valuable for the next generation. I am sure every alumnus will directly or indirectly contribute to building the future of Bharat.”

Shri Niranjan Mahabalappa, Global President of NITK Alumni Association said, “NITKonnect’26 is a strategic business aggregation of alumni - a mechanism through which founders, investors, technologists, and business leaders, who have shared values, come together to help provide direction for the next phase of growth of India.”

The day-long event featured keynotes by Ajay Prabhu, Vice Chairman Quest Global and Saumya Swain, Chairman of RT Energy. Under the banner of “Innovate in Bharat, Scale for the World,” the summit explored India’s transformation into a global powerhouse across AI sovereignty, clean energy, and self-reliant space tech. From the “EV Pivot” and FinTech 2030 to the evolution of the “Factory of the Future,” the sessions dissected how capital and conviction are driving India from a plus-one to the one. By bridging the gap between enterprise SaaS, digital infrastructure, and the new consumer playbook, the event will define the next decade of growth, culminating in a Founders’ Panel on scaling with integrity and redefining the future of work.

About NITK
National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), Surathkal is one of India’s premier engineering institutions, established in 1960 and recognized as an Institute of National Importance. Known for its strong academic rigor, cutting-edge research, and industry-linked innovation, NITK offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs across engineering, science, and management disciplines. The institute is renowned for its high-quality faculty, state- of-the-art laboratories, vibrant research culture, and global collaborations. With a coastal campus located along the Arabian Sea, NITK consistently ranks among India’s top engineering institutions and is a key contributor to technological advancement, social impact initiatives, and Nation-building.

About NITKonnect
NITK Surathkal Alumni Association is a global network of 45,000 alumni. NITKonnect is its largest annual alumni summit attracting over 1200+ entrepreneurs, professionals, investors, operators and enablers under one roof to connect, synergise and co-create the next wave of impactful enterprises.

Chennai-based two-year old startup Fintastics is rapidly gaining traction in India’s personal finance tech space, tapping into the country’s rising demand for smarter digital money management solutions. At a time when financial discipline is becoming central to personal growth and long-term stability, the startup is positioning its platform as a financial life-changing innovation, a next-generation expense manager and budgeting app designed to help individuals and families seamlessly track income, control spending, and cultivate sustainable savings habits in an increasingly digital economy.

Fintastics 

Developed by Thinking Hats Tech Solutions Pvt Ltd, Fintastics integrates expense tracking, goal-based savings, AI-driven insights, and secure transaction monitoring into one unified platform, aiming to make financial clarity accessible to India’s digital-first generation.

According to Mouli Shankar, Founder of Thinking Hats Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd., “Our mission is to transform the way people manage money. We believe financial clarity leads to financial confidence and that confidence changes lives. We envision Fintastics as a catalyst for stronger financial awareness, responsible money management and lasting abundance through transparent guidance, consistent and long-term support, across Indian households. Designed for the digital generation, the app offers a clean and intuitive interface that makes tracking income, expenses, and savings effortless for students, professionals, and families alike. With secure SMS-based transaction detection (enabled only with user permission) and strong security and encryption standards, we ensure both convenience and complete data protection. By helping individuals build disciplined money habits, reduce unnecessary expenses, and achieve long-term financial stability, we aim to contribute to a financially stronger India.”

“Currently available for Android and iOS users, Fintastics will continue to evolve with regular updates and AI-driven enhancements in the future.” he added.

Fintastics goes far beyond traditional expense tracking apps by offering a complete financial ecosystem tailored for modern lifestyles. The Features of the app include:

• AI Insights (Finney AI) – Personalized spending analysis and smart suggestions

• Smart Expense Tracking – Instantly record daily income and expenses

• Simple & Custom Budgets – Plan monthly or category-wise budgets

• Passbook View – Track all accounts in one unified dashboard

• Financial Goals – Set, monitor, and achieve savings targets

• Due & EMI Reminders – Never miss important payments

• Advanced Financial Reports – Clear analytics for better decisions

• Family Sharing Model – Transparent household budget monitoring

• Rewards & Achievements – Recognition for disciplined financial habits

Fintastics Introducing a New Business Model

Finbudy – The Face of Fintastics:
A nationwide network of district ambassadors promoting Fintastics services and financial awareness. Strengthening local presence and improving service reach across India.

www.earn100save10.club (Build Disciplined Financial Habits & Awareness)
A community-driven savings initiative focused on creating disciplined financial habits and encouraging consistent saving. Encouraging collective growth and long-term financial security.

Upcoming Innovations

Fintastics continues to evolve with powerful upcoming features designed to elevate personal financial management. According to Thinking Hats Tech Solutions Pvt Ltd, the next phase of innovation will introduce smarter collaboration and predictive intelligence for users.

Split Sharing – Easily split and track shared expenses among friends, roommates, or groups with clarity and transparency.

Advanced Family Sharing – Enhanced multi-member access with improved visibility for household financial monitoring.

Fin Astro – A unique projection model that analyses three months of financial data to forecast trends, spending patterns, and potential savings opportunities.

These upcoming enhancements are designed to deliver predictive financial intelligence and collaborative money management that will empower users with deeper insights and smarter control over their financial future.

Privacy-First & Secure by Design

Fintastics follows strict privacy and encryption standards to protect user data.

Disclaimer:
Fintastics does not connect to real-time banking systems and does not request or store users’ banking usernames or passwords. All financial data entered remains under the user’s control, ensuring complete transparency and security.

For Further information, please visit fintastics.ai or call +91 8892783333

At Thinking Hats Tech Solutions Pvt Ltd

CANEUS International, in partnership with the Government of Maharashtra (India) recently announced plans to establish the world’s first dedicated Mid-TRL (Technology Readiness Level 4–6) Institute in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Devendra Fadnavis and Dr. Milind Pimprikar of CANEUS International. The proposed institute will focus on Mid-TRL Innovation, Acceleration and Skilling in frontier technologies-Aerospace, Space, Energy and Deeptech. CANEUS International is a leading global organisation accelerating next-generation systems since 2000.
 

Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra; Dr. Milind Pimprikar, Chairman, CANEUS International and Shri Binoay B, Chief Strategist, CANEUS International
 

At the signing of the MoU at WEF Davos, Switzerland, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, reaffirmed the State’s strong commitment to the global investor community. He emphasized, “Maharashtra is well equipped and proud to partner with CANEUS International to pioneer the creation of innovation centres across dynamic sectors, frontier technologies, and aerospace. The State takes pride in partnering with this prestigious institute near Mumbai - the commercial capital of India and the world’s fourth-largest economy - perfectly aligning with Maharashtra’s aspirations to scale its innovation ecosystem globally.”
 

According to Dr. Milind Pimprikar, Chairman of CANEUS International, “This world-first Mid-TRL Innovation Acceleration Institute will bridge the ‘valley of death’ by advancing TRL 4–6 innovations through rapid prototyping, systems integration, validation, and flight/field trials, taking breakthroughs from lab to qualification and early production for real-world deployment and global competitiveness”.
 

The Institute will be located in an integrated, purpose-built ecosystem in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), spread over a sprawling 10 million square feet supporting global collaboration, mission stakeholder engagement, and industry partnerships at scale.
 

Designed as a global skilling and capability-building engine, the Institute will be developed in collaboration with OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, regulators, research institutions and centres of excellence, ensuring that skilling pathways are aligned with real-world industry requirements in mission-critical sectors.
 

Dr. Pimprikar noted that the institute would be a true game changer, serving as a powerful magnet to attract global aerospace conglomerates to India. The initiative will strengthen talent pipelines for advanced manufacturing and high-reliability systems, enabling the workforce to meet the demands of aerospace, space, energy and deep-tech ecosystems.
 

The Institute will also address a critical global gap in frontier technology programmes: system integration readiness. This capability is essential for aerospace and space missions, where reliability, qualification, and deployment readiness are mission-critical and cannot be compromised.
 

Dr. Pimprikar also expressed appreciation for the dynamic team within the Government of Maharashtra for their exceptional support and commitment. Maharashtra already stands as a leading investment destination, with one of the highest ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings in India for FDI inflows.
 

The institute is envisioned as a key catalyst for the Viksit Maharashtra 2047 vision and its ambition to become a trillion-dollar economy, in alignment with the forward-looking objectives of MIISP 2025 (Maharashtra Industries, Investment & Services Policy).
 

The partnership strongly aligns with the Government of Maharashtra’s increasing emphasis on industry-aligned skilling through public–private partnerships (PPP), building demand-driven training programs, strengthening institutional capacity, and creating workforce pathways that directly support emerging and strategic sectors.

About CANEUS International

CANEUS International, Canada, founded in 2000, is a pioneering global organisation that brings together industry, research institutions, centres of excellence, and mission stakeholders to validate, integrate and scale next-generation systems. CANEUS enables end-user-driven consortia, testbeds, pilots and systems integration to accelerate high-impact innovations toward deployment.
 

For inquiries, contact:

Dr. Milind Pimprikar, Chairman | mp@caneus.org | +1 (514) 664-2079

Mr. Binoay B, Chief Strategist | binoay.b@caneus.org | +91 7400030896
 

For more information, please visit www.caneus.org.

TimBuckDo Closes Rs 2.70 Crore Funding Round Backed by Industry Titans and VCs After National TV Showcase on Ideabaaz

The interest generated during TimBuckdo’s participation on Ideabaaz has now culminated in a completed and fully closed funding round, with all investors concluding their due diligence and formal commitments.

The round saw the participation from a group of global investors including Sandesh Sharda, Turbostart, Anupam Bansal, Arjun Vaidya, and Shaili Chopra, along with Rukam Capital, headed by Archana Jahagirdar, Ideabaaz’s investment arm, and the co-founders of Ideabaaz.

The total investment, which expanded from initial on-air interest to Rs. 2.70 crore, reflects strong conviction in TimBuckdo’s mission to build India’s largest and most trusted student ecosystem.

A Significant Moment for TimBuckdo

TimBuckdo’s journey from national television to a fully closed investment round marks a meaningful milestone for the company. The structured process from pitch, to investor engagement, to diligence, to closure, highlights the platform’s credibility and the growing market readiness of India’s student workforce.

Investor Statements

Ganesh Raju, Founder - Turbostart

"We invested in Timbuckdo because we saw a team with real passion and lived experience tackling a problem many Indian students face every day which is finding flexible, meaningful ways to earn, learn, and gain experience while they study. The founders’ deep commitment to empowering students and their thoughtful approach to building a safe, scalable gig ecosystem convinced us that Timbuckdo isn’t just solving a problem, it’s shaping how India’s students access opportunity and build their futures"

Sandesh Sharda, Angel Investor and Titan on Ideabaaz

“I could relate to the GiG workers problem and TimBuckDo solves it very well. The Management Team is driven and looks like Gig workers will continue to grow in India as we are a young economy driven by youth”

Anupam Bansal, Executive Director, Liberty Shoes and Titan on Ideabaaz

“Timbuckdo is opening meaningful pathways for students through gig opportunities, real-time earnings, and exposure to new ideas. I’m proud to support them with both capital and mentorship as they shape the future of young talent.”

Arjun Vaidya Managing Partner, V3 Ventures I Ventures Lead - India, Verlinvest Founder, Dr. Vaidya's (acquired) and Titan on Ideabaaz

"India's young population is a superpower that many don't talk about. With the rest of the world facing an aging population crisis, we have an opportunity. But, we need to do something about it. As a student, I always wanted to work but I never got my due. Seeing the Timbuckdo pitch brought these things together. Respectable, structured and most importantly PAID work for students in a platformized manner. The size of the opportunity is massive and Ideabaaz is excited to see what this team does with it!"

Mudit Kumar, Co-Founder, Ideabaaz

“The gig economy is redefining how young Bharat learns, earns, and experiments and it's no longer limited to professionals - it’s rapidly becoming a gateway for students and young talent to gain real-world exposure early. Timbuckdo is playing a critical role in building this culture by enabling structured, trusted gig opportunities at scale. We believe platforms like these will be foundational to Bharat’s future of work.”

Co-Founder Statements

Mythri Kumar, Co-founder, TimBuckdo -

“Ideabaaz gave us a stage to share our mission, but the trust placed in us throughout the diligence and funding process has been the true milestone. We intend to use the funds and the exposure from the show judiciously to strengthen our student community and make gig work a widely adoptable culture. With marquee investors backing us, our confidence in scaling TimBuckdo has only grown stronger.”

Apoorv Sharma Prasad, Co-founder, TimBuckdo -

“Closing this round with the backing of respected investors and partners is a moment of immense responsibility. The process was detailed and thorough, and its successful completion gives us the momentum to accelerate our next phase-from our AI-led student engine to expanding across campuses nationwide.”

About TimBuckdo

TimBuckdo is India’s first social-commerce platform built exclusively for students, empowering them to earn, upskill, and become financially self-reliant through meaningful gig opportunities. The platform brings together AI-driven job matching, dynamic in-store discounts via QR codes, a rapidly expanding campus ambassador network, and full-stack tools for digitising campus events and activities all designed to strengthen the student gig ecosystem and make part-time work an accessible, reliable, and rewarding culture across India.

About Ideabaaz

Ideabaaz, aired on ZTV and Z5, is a national television platform where all-stage founders pitch to leading business Titans and venture firms. The show bridges entrepreneurship, mentorship, and investment, providing startups visibility and access to experienced investors.

Octobotics Tech Pvt. Ltd., an industrial robotics company, has announced the successful closure of its Series Seed funding round of approximately Rs. 10 crore.

Octobotics Cofounders Mr Ishan Bhatnagar on left and Mr Gulshan Kumar on right

The round was led by Navam Capital, with participation from BYT Capital. The funds will be deployed to accelerate product development, strengthen field validation, and support international expansion.

Founded in 2020 by Ishan Bhatnagar and Gulshan Kumar, Octobotics develops AI-enabled, vertically integrated Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) robotics platforms engineered for harsh environments across industrial and rail applications.

The company currently serves leading organisations including the Indian Navy, IOCL, Saudi S-Chem, BPCL, HPCL, Aarti Industries, and GSFC, and recorded Rs. 2 crore in annual revenue in the last fiscal year.

“This capital will support R&D for vertical integration and the pursuit of IECEx and ATEX certifications, while expanding our operations in India, Singapore, and the Middle East,” said Ishan Bhatnagar and Gulshan Kumar, Co-Founders of Octobotics. “The distribution-led approach allows us to deploy these systems to assist human operators and reduce the need for manual tasks in hazardous environments.”

Commenting on the investment, Dr. Anjan Ray, Investment Partner at Navam Capital, said, “Octobotics is addressing specific maintenance challenges within critical infrastructure. Their focus on a vertically integrated technology stack and a scalable distribution model provides a clear path for serving the global inspection market.”

In asset-intensive industries such as Oil & Gas, Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Marine, Power, Fertilizers, and Rail, competitiveness is increasingly driven by safety, operability, and asset uptime. However, several high-risk inspection zones—including corroded surfaces, elevated structures, confined spaces, and complex geometries—continue to pose challenges for conventional manual inspection methods.

The company addresses complex inspection challenges by automating hazardous tasks and converting field measurements into actionable asset integrity intelligence. By enabling earlier detection of defects, corrosion, and material loss, Octobotics helps operators reduce operational risk and minimise unplanned downtime. Its robotic and sensor-driven workflows capture high-fidelity inspection data, which is analysed using predictive analytics to deliver a unified, decision-ready view of asset health.

The founders first connected at MERI Kolkata and later built careers in complex international operations. Ishan Bhatnagar previously managed maritime operations and automation at Singapore-based BW Maritime, while Gulshan Kumar served as an Operations & Maintenance Engineer at Belgian dredging major D.E.M.E. Inspired by the “Make in India” mission, they returned to India to build data-driven, field-ready inspection solutions for critical infrastructure.

Octobotics’ product portfolio includes PA RailScan, a PAUT-based system for rail track weld inspection that enables consistent defect detection and repeatable inspection quality at scale; Weld Sensei, an automated inspection platform designed for precision data acquisition in hazardous environments where manual inspection is impractical or unsafe; and Reach Master, a specialised NDT tool developed for inspection tasks in hard-to-reach and high-elevation zones.

About Octobotics

Octobotics is an India-based industrial robotics company building AI-enabled NDT platforms for high-risk inspection environments. The company combines field-grade sensing and robotics with predictive analytics to help operators improve safety, reduce downtime, and extend asset life across industrial and rail infrastructure.

Deepak Lamba, Founder & CEO, ImagiNxt

The partnership brings together ImagiNxt’s ambition to build a world-class, future-facing technology platform with MeitY Startup Hub’s national mandate to catalyse innovation across startups, deep tech, and emerging digital technologies under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. As part of the collaboration, MeitY Startup Hub will contribute to ImagiNxt 2026’s startup-led programming, policy conversations, and curated ecosystem engagements, enabling deeper participation from founders, innovators, and ecosystem institutions.

Scheduled for 22–23 May 2026 at the Jio World Centre, ImagiNxt 2026 is being built as a global convening where technology, enterprise, policy, science, and creativity intersect, with a strong emphasis on scalable, inclusive, and future-ready innovation.

Deepak Lamba, Founder and CEO, ImagiNxt, said, “India’s digital ambition will be realised by how effectively startups, policy and enterprise move together — at speed and at scale. Partnering with MeitY Startup Hub strengthens ImagiNxt’s ability to serve as a platform where founders are not merely visible, but structurally connected to capital, markets, policymakers and global opportunity. This collaboration is about translating innovation intent into measurable outcomes for India’s technology future.”

Dr Panneerselvam Madanagopal, CEO, MeitY Startup Hub, said, “India’s digital growth depends on strong collaboration between government, industry, startups and academia. ImagiNxt brings these stakeholders together in a structured and forward-looking way. I look forward to being part of ImagiNxt 2026 and contributing to conversations focused on building scalable, inclusive and future-ready technology for India.”

The partnership reflects a shared belief that India’s next phase of growth will be driven by startups, digital public infrastructure, and enabling policy frameworks that support innovation at a population scale.

Further details on MeitY Startup Hub-led sessions, startup showcases, and ecosystem initiatives at ImagiNxt 2026 will be announced in the coming months.

About MeitY Startup Hub (MSH)

MeitY Startup Hub (MSH) is the national startup and innovation platform of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. MSH fosters innovation across deep tech, electronics, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, gaming, and emerging technologies by connecting startups with government, industry, academia, and investors to accelerate innovation-led nation building.

About ImagiNxt 2026

ImagiNxt 2026 is India’s Festival of Technology and Innovation, built with the objective of enabling innovation-led nation building. The inaugural edition will be held on 22–23 May 2026 at the Jio World Centre, Mumbai, convening global technology leaders, enterprises, investors, policymakers, startups, researchers, and creators to shape India’s technology and innovation agenda for the next decade.

Curated by ImaginatioNxt Private Limited, ImagiNxt accelerates outcomes by connecting capital, markets, policy, and human experience, with focus areas spanning artificial intelligence, deep tech, digital public infrastructure, robotics, sustainability, enterprise transformation, and creator-driven economies.

UnboxingBLR - Namma Bengaluru Challenge '26 winners with jury

NBC '26 is turning Bengaluru into a sandbox for finding solutions to climate-triggered challenges that the city faces. The challenge aspires to test ideas that can be piloted on real streets, real buildings and real communities before scaling up across cities.

The five winners were selected from nearly 600 registrations from across India, making NBC ʼ26 one of the country’s most competitive and high-impact climate innovation challenges.

Over the next six months, the startups will pilot solutions that directly address Bengaluruʼs most urgent environmental challenges across construction, water and waste—a few critical pillars of the cityʼs Bengaluru Climate Action and Resilience Plan (BCAP).

“Bengaluru is running out of time on climate, but not out of ideas. What NBC ʼ26 proves is that when entrepreneurs, government and industry come together, we can move from pilots to real solutions that change how the city is built, powered and sustained,ˮ said Prashanth Prakash, Chairman and Co-founder, UnboxingBLR.

NBC '26 is powered by a strong consortium of partners committed to systemic change.

Challenge Partners

• Bangalore International Airport Limited

• Brigade Group

Program Partners

• Bangalore Climate Action Cell (Climate Action Partner)

• WRI India (Knowledge Partner)

• Brigade REAP

• CoEvolve Estates (Pilot Partner)

• Biome Environmental Solutions (Pilot Partner)

• GoodEarth (Pilot Partner)

Why this matters now:

Bengaluru has lost 93% of its lakes and green cover to urban expansion, while construction has grown by over 1,000% in the last two decades. The result: worsening water shortages, rising heat, polluted air and fragile waste systems — all hitting the cityʼs most vulnerable
communities the hardest.

NBC ʼ26 bridges this gap by moving climate innovation out of labs and into neighbourhoods, backed by government, industry and investors working together.

“We are thrilled to see the exciting diversity of innovators selected in the Namma Bengaluru Challenge ʼ26, with solutions spanning sustainable construction materials, effluent treatment, and circular materials. This reflects a growing recognition that impactful climate-tech solutions must be as varied as the urban challenges we face. The pilots enabled through this challenge will help de-risk promising technologies, strengthen pathways to scale, and accelerate real-world impact in Bengaluru and beyond. We look forward to partnering with this cohort as they move from bold ideas to demonstrable outcomes that advance urban sustainability and resilience,ˮ said Manoj Kumar, Founder, Social Alpha.

The Five NBC ʼ26 Winners

1. Carbon Craft Design

Category: Sustainable Construction

Founder: Tejas Sidnal

Carbon Craft Design is reinventing building materials using low-carbon blocks and panels made from industrial waste and recovered carbon. Their products can replace conventional bricks, tiles and facades—cutting emissions where Bengaluru produces them the most: in construction.

2. SatiQ Concrete Manufacturer

Category: Low-Carbon Concrete

Founders: Shantanu Bhattacherjee, Smrati Jain

SatiQ Concrete Manufacturer develops next-generation cement binders that dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of concrete. By working directly with ready-mix plants, precast manufacturers and builders, Satiq is helping decarbonise the backbone of Indiaʼs urban growth.

3. Tellus Habitat

Category: Water & Sanitation

Founders: Dr. Seema Sukhani, Naveen Janardhana

Tellus Habitatʼs R3H2O system treats sewage locally using advanced bio-filters, making wastewater reusable for gardening, flushing and cleaning. This reduces dependence on freshwater while easing pressure on Bengaluruʼs overburdened sewage network.

4. Go Do Good

Category: Plastic-Free Packaging

Founders: Khushboo Gandhi, Chanakya Medh, Ronak Gandhi

Go Do Good has created 100% plant-based coatings and inks that replace plastic layers in food packaging. Their technology keeps food safe and fresh—without adding to the mountains

of plastic waste choking Bengaluruʼs landfills.

5. Sunbird Straws

Category: Circular Biomaterials

Founders: Chirag M G, Saji Varghese

Sunbird Straws makes fully compostable straws from fallen coconut leaves—strong enough for hours of use, yet completely biodegradable. The model also creates income for rural women, linking climate action with livelihoods.

A model for Indian cities

As Indian cities grapple with heat waves, floods, water shortages and waste crises, NBC ʼ26 offers a new blueprint—where government, corporates and climate entrepreneurs move in lockstep from pilot to policy to scale.

“Cities donʼt become climate-resilient through intent — they become resilient through evidence. The pilots under NBC ʼ26 will generate exactly the kind of data cities need to scale what works and move faster on climate action,ˮ said Pavitra Shankar, Managing Director, Brigade Group.

“The real challenge in climate innovation is not invention, itʼs adoption and scale-up. NBC ʼ26 creates that missing bridge — by backing bold solutions that can be piloted and scaled up at a city-level. The challenge brings capital, founders and the city together to solve problems in the startup capital Bengaluru,ˮ added Malini Goyal, Co-Founder & CEO, UnboxingBLR.

“Urban climate challenges demand solutions that are practical, scalable, and rooted in collaboration. Platforms like the Namma Bengaluru Challenge create the conditions for innovation to move from concept to real-world application. At BIAL, we are committed to supporting solutions that are evidence-led and capable of delivering lasting environmental impact for the city,ˮ said Hari Marar, Managing Director & CEO, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).

UnboxingBLR

UnboxingBLR (UBLR) is a Bengaluru-focused collaborative platform dedicated to celebrating and shaping the city’s culture and identity. Founded in 2023 by Prashanth Prakash and Malini Goyal, UBLR brings together people, communities, and institutions to co-create Bengaluru’s story, serving as a city champion, idea catalyst, and collaborative platform.

UBLR drives initiatives such as the Namma Bengaluru Challenge, an accelerator that supports startups and changemakers tackling urban challenges; BLR Hubba, a city-wide festival celebrating art and culture; the annual We Are City Data Report, a data-driven snapshot of how citizens experience and engage with Bengaluru; and Code to Culture, a podcast exploring the city and its people. Together, these initiatives highlight citizen-led innovation and showcase Bengaluru’s cultural vibrancy in action.

PayU’s Startup Republic campaign launches with a 120-second hero film capturing the collective spirit of India's entrepreneurial republic, followed by a series of 36 five-minute documentary films
 

India's startup landscape, as of December 31, 2025, boasts more than 2 lakh DPIIT-recognized startups, spanning D2C and diverse business verticals, that have generated employment for over 2.1 million people, with women representation in leadership roles (as directors or partners) exceeding 45%. 

The initiative includes showcasing entrepreneurs from DPIIT-registered startups located in emerging entrepreneurial hubs outside the metros, highlighting narratives from geographically underrepresented regions. Through this inclusive strategy, entrepreneurial achievements from India's varied territories gain nationwide recognition and visibility through a unified story of national progress.

The campaign launches with a 120-second hero film capturing the collective spirit of India's entrepreneurial republic, followed by a series of 36 five-minute documentary films. Spanning diverse segments including lifestyle, travel, health, FMCG, and others, these films represent the true breadth of India's entrepreneurial republic. Each film profiles a founder from a different state or union territory, offering an intimate look at their journey, challenges and aspirations. Rolling out across PayU's social channels starting January 23^rd ahead of Republic Day celebrations, these stories demonstrate how India's startup ecosystem embodies the 'Made in India, built for the world' ethos reshaping the nation's economic landscape.

"The next decade of India's digital economy will be built by founders who understand local consumers deeply and scale with global ambition. At PayU, we believe India's greatest asset is its entrepreneurial spirit. Startup Republic celebrates entrepreneurs actively writing India's future through authentic storytelling, because innovation has no zip code in India and real nation-building happens when founders from Ladakh to Lakshadweep see that their dreams matter. This initiative reflects where India is headed, not just where it stands today," said Vineet Sethi, Chief Growth and Marketing Officer, PayU.
 

“Under Startup India, India’s startup ecosystem is moving beyond scale to focus on depth and genuine impact. With innovation reaching every state and union territory, entrepreneurship is becoming a powerful nation-building force. Initiatives like Startup Republic showcase these diverse success stories, proving that India’s innovation economy is growing well beyond the metros,” said Shri Sanjiv, Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

This campaign celebrates D2C startups, an integral segment of PayU's merchant ecosystem, bringing these nation-builders into the spotlight during India's most significant patriotic moment. Under an MoU with DPIIT, PayU is working with Startup India to empower startups across India—not just in metro cities—by delivering tailored payment solutions, mentorship, exclusive community access, and fundraising opportunities to support growth at every stage.

PayU also runs InFiNity, India’s leading fintech accelerator, which has enabled 60 startups across two cohorts with 1:1 mentorship, partnership opportunities, and over $5 million in investments, translating founder innovation into real scale.

Watch the film: youtu.be/pw0gGHXj9zc
 

About PayU
PayU, India's leading diversified fintech platform with Prosus as an investor, operates businesses that are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and offers advanced solutions to meet the digital financial services needs of customers (merchants, banks, and consumers).
 

PayU provides payment gateway solutions to online businesses through its cutting-edge and award-winning technology and has empowered 4.5 lakhs+ businesses, including India’s leading enterprises, e-commerce giants and SMBs. It enables businesses to collect digital payments across 100+ online payment methods such as Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Net Banking, EMIs, pay-later, QR, UPI, Wallets, and more. It’s a preferred partner in the affordability ecosystem, offering the maximum coverage of issuers and easy-to-implement integrations across card-based EMIs, pay-later options, and new-age cardless EMIs. PayU offers e-commerce brands best-in-industry success rates while ensuring a seamless checkout experience.
 

About Startup India
Launched on 16 January 2016, Startup India is a sector-agnostic flagship initiative of the Government of India aimed at building a strong, resilient, and inclusive startup ecosystem across the country. Anchored by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the initiative works to catalyse a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship by enabling startups through progressive policy reforms, ease of doing business measures, access to funding, incubation and mentorship support, and market linkages.

The startup movement, ignited by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has transformed India into one of the world’s fastest-growing innovation hubs. From approximately 500 startups in 2016, the ecosystem has expanded to over 2 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups spanning diverse sectors and geographies, including a significant presence from Tier II and Tier III cities. Startup India continues to play a pivotal role in nurturing homegrown innovation, fostering job creation, promoting inclusive economic growth, and strengthening India’s position as a global startup destination.

(L-R) Mr. Sunny Bhardwaj - National Head Broking, ICICI Lombard, Mr. Amit Jain – CEO & Co-Founder, Girnar Soft & Mr. Sanjeev Mantri – MD & CEO, ICICI Lombard

Recognising this gap, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, India’s leading private general insurer hosted ‘Startup Shield – The Risk Readiness’, a focused awareness initiative designed to help Indian start-ups identify, assess, and mitigate key business risks through structured risk planning and appropriate insurance solutions.

The exclusive event brought together over 100 participants, including startup founders, private equity and venture capital investors, CXOs, industry experts, and risk professionals, for interactive discussions on building resilient and future-ready businesses. The initiative aimed to move the conversation beyond risk avoidance, encouraging founders to adopt a proactive approach to risk preparedness as they scale.

The event saw participation from prominent voices across the start-up ecosystem, including representing the investor and broader ecosystem perspective. The presence of founders and investors at different stages of the startup lifecycle enriched discussions around practical risk planning and long-term business resilience.

Startup Shield focused on risk preparedness across different growth stages, highlighting how early planning can strengthen governance, improve operational resilience, and enhance investor confidence. Sessions addressed emerging and critical risk areas such as cyber and data security, employee health and wellness, professional indemnity, directors and officers (D&O) liability, asset protection, and business interruption.

Experts from ICICI Lombard shared real-world case studies demonstrating how timely insurance coverage and structured risk management have helped startups recover from unexpected disruptions, manage legal and financial exposures, and continue their growth journeys with minimal impact on operations.

The discussions also underscored how risk readiness is increasingly becoming a key consideration during investor due diligence, enterprise partnerships, and board-level decision-making, positioning it as a growth enabler rather than a compliance exercise.

Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Sandeep Goradia - Chief Corporate, International & Bancassurance, ICICI Lombard, said, “India today is the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, with over 1.8 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups driving innovation, employment, and global competitiveness. As Indian startups build ambitious, high-growth businesses, their exposure to unforeseen risks is also rising. Through Startup Shield, we aim to shift the conversation from reacting to risk to anticipating it — helping founders protect their people, strengthen their businesses, and build lasting stakeholder trust. In doing so, we aspire to become their long-term risk partners, enabling them to scale with resilience, responsibility, and sustainable profitability.”

Through Starup Shield, ICICI Lombard reinforced its commitment to supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainable business growth in India. The initiative forms part of the company’s broader efforts to engage with the startup ecosystem and enable founders to build resilient businesses that are prepared not just to grow, but to withstand uncertainty.

About ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited

ICICI Lombard is the leading private general insurance company in the country. The Company offers a comprehensive and well-diversified range of products through multiple distribution channels, including motor, health, crop, fire, personal accident, marine, engineering, and liability insurance. With a legacy of over 2 decades, ICICI Lombard is committed to customer centricity with its brand philosophy of ‘Nibhaye Vaade’. The company has issued over 37.6 million policies, over 3.2 million claims processed and has a Gross Written Premium (GWP) of ₹ 282.58 billion for the year ended March 31, 2025. ICICI Lombard has 328 branches and 15,123 employees, as on March 31, 2025.

ICICI Lombard has been a pioneer in the industry, being the first large-scale insurance company in India to migrate its entire core systems to the cloud. With a strong focus on being digitally-led and agile, the company has introduced multiple AI-powered insurance solutions. The company’s flagship insurance and wellness app, IL TakeCare, which has received over 18.4 million downloads, also offers the industry’s first Face Scan feature. The company has won several prestigious awards- including the Insurance Asia, ICC Emerging Asia Insurance, ET BFSI Exceller, ET Corporate Excellence, Golden Peacock, FICCI Insurance, Assocham, Stevie Asia Pacific, and National CSR in recognition of its various initiatives.

For more details log on to www.icicilombard.com.

Change Engine announced the Mission Billion Summit on January 29, 2026, to be held at the India International Centre, Delhi. Designed as India’s premier ‘founder-first’ platform, the summit will gather over 200 non-profit founders, philanthropists and policymakers with a singular goal: building 100 non-profit unicorns by 2030 - organisations impacting over a million people. 

Change Engine's Mission Billion Summit aims to build 100 non-profit unicorns by 2030

India’s social sector stands at a critical inflection point. A new generation of ambitious founders is emerging, determined to solve complex social problems at ‘India scale’. While the patient capital and catalytic ecosystems required to take these founders from pilot to million-plus impact are beginning to form, the Mission Billion Summit aims to bring these fragmented pieces together.

 
Speaking about the summit, Varun Aggarwal, Co-founder, Change Engine, said "We need a movement towards non-profit unicorns in India, much like the startup movement a decade ago. Mission Billion Summit will bring together all stakeholders to solve our most pressing developmental challenges. With founders at the centre, we are creating an ecosystem where you can move beyond pilots and master the playbook to reach national-level impact using evidence-driven interventions with the right collaborators.”

Shubham Bansal, Co-founder, Change Engine, added, "Mission Billion summit serves as a startup school for non-profits, providing the actionable toolkits - from how to partner with government to building evidence to raising capital. Our goal is to empower founders to build for the entire nation, not just a single zip code.”

The summit is structured across two parallel tracks featuring 25+ speakers, 12+ sessions, and 3 workshop-style masterclasses designed to address the core challenges of non-profit scale:

• Building Nonprofit Unicorns: A startup-school style track covering topics such as evidence-building beyond RCTs, fundraising and innovation capital, partnering with government, and community-led scale.

• Tackling Wicked Problems: Focused conversations on what works (and what doesn't) across key domains, including welfare and social protection, education, and governance, bringing together practitioners and thinkers working at the cutting edge of these challenges.

Each track will feature deep-dive sessions and masterclasses designed to surface actionable insights, cross-sector partnerships, and scalable innovations. 

A key highlight of the summit will be the launch of Change Engine’s first report in the ‘Ease of Doing Non-profits’ series. Based on a first-of-its-kind survey of social entrepreneurs, the report identifies the structural barriers preventing high-potential non-profits from reaching 'unicorn' scale. The preliminary findings reveal a systemic lack of ‘innovation capital’ - the flexible, high-risk funding required for non-profits to experiment and scale.

The summit will see participation from prominent philanthropists, including Sanjeev Bikhchandani (Info Edge), Aakanksha Gulati (ACT Grants), Murugan Vasudevan (Veddis Foundation), Chetan (Tech Mahindra Foundation), Riti Mohapatra (The Bridgespan Group), amongst others. 

It will also feature senior leaders from organisations that have successfully scaled impact, such as Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Central Square Foundation, Avanti Fellows, Rocket Learning, Agami, CORO, Sneha, XKDR, amongst others. 

Mission Billion Summit deepens Change Engine's commitment to building a thriving ecosystem for mission-driven founders by providing the capital, knowledge, and partnerships needed to transform pilots into national solutions. 

For more information and registration, please visit the Change Engine website.

About Change Engine
Change Engine supports exceptional founders in building non-profit unicorns - organisations that can meaningfully impact a million people. We do this through our unique sandbox for non-profits, which includes support for leveraging data and evidence, partnering with the government, applying product and tech expertise, and deploying catalytic seed capital.

Over the last few years, we've worked with 10 non-profits that have raised over $2M in follow-up funding in addition to our support. We also published the Playbook for Nonprofit Unicorns - the first data-backed guide for founders created from insights drawn from 30+ organisations that have scaled. We've been featured extensively in The Economic Times, Mint, India Development Review (IDR) and Brut India for our work on scaling social impact through evidence-based frameworks and strategic partnerships.

 IIT Bombay’s TIH Concludes ATMAN 3.0; 6 Health-tech Startups to Receive Upto INR 6-crore Cumulative Seed Funding

ATMAN 3.0 saw strong participation from across India, with 173 HealthTech startups pitching their ideas to TIH IIT Bombay. Following a rigorous selection and mentoring process, 06 startups emerged as winners from the final cohort of 13 accelerated ventures. On Demo Day, the selected startups were recommended for a total cumulative seed funding amounting to INR 6 crore, with each startup receiving funding support of up to INR 1 Crore, subject to evaluation outcomes.

 IIT Bombay’s TIH Concludes ATMAN 3.0; 6 Health-tech Startups to Receive Upto INR 6-crore Cumulative Seed Funding

The shortlisted start-ups are Prezitech Health Pvt Ltd, (Precigo: a snap-on needle tracking system for ultrasound machines for real-time procedural planning and guidance during high precision medical interventions), Attox Research Laboratories Pvt Ltd. (AMRIT for antimicrobial resistance), Queliz Lifetech Pvt Ltd. (UltraHand, a robotic rehabilitation device), Deepfacts Private Ltd. (proRITHM is an AI-powered remote patient monitoring platform using a compact wireless, wearable device to track vitals in real time), MicroHeal and Raycura Medical Technologies (BETTER a rehabilitation device for stroke/paralysis recovery).

Commenting on the successful conclusion of the programme, Mr. Kiran Shesh, CEO, Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) at IIT Bombay, said, “ATMAN 3.0 is more than an accelerator—it’s a movement to transform bold HealthTech ideas into scalable, world-class solutions. This cohort showcases cutting-edge innovations that reflect India’s rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. Bigger, bolder, and future-focused, ATMAN 3.0 champions sustainability, deep tech, and global competitiveness. With access to top-tier mentorship, domain experts, and strategic investor networks, founders are empowered to create solutions that truly matter. ATMAN 3.0 reaffirms India’s potential to lead global innovation—where every idea ignites change and shapes the future of healthcare.”

Mr. Hardik Joshi, COO, Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) at IIT Bombay, added, “ATMAN 3.0 accelerator has been designed to provide founders with a comprehensive support framework that goes beyond funding. From technology validation and regulatory guidance to investor readiness and industry connections, the programme enables startups to strengthen their foundations for sustainable growth. The strong participation from investors and ecosystem stakeholders at Demo Day highlights the relevance and readiness of the startups graduating from this cohort.”

The gathering featured a keynote address by Mr. Dileep Mangsuli, Chairman of Cancer Treatment Services International and Senior Vice President at Siemens Healthineers, who noted, that the future of healthcare lies in delivering quality care at scale across geographies, with artificial intelligence playing a pivotal role in early screening and prevention. He highlighted that technology adoption must be driven by real-world impact—addressing prevalent healthcare challenges where it makes both clinical and economic sense. Mr. Mangsuli outlined three foundational pillars shaping this transformation: patient twinning to enable individualized care pathways, precision therapy to improve outcomes, and the intelligent use of digital data and AI to support informed, timely clinical decision-making.

In addition to startup pitches, Demo Day was marked with discussions on investment trends in healthcare, evolving regulatory frameworks, and emerging technology models shaping the future of the sector. The event also enabled portfolio startups from earlier TIH IIT Bombay programmes to connect with investors for follow-on funding and strategic partnerships. Dedicated networking spaces facilitated meaningful dialogue between founders, investors, and industry stakeholders.

Through ATMAN 3.0, TIH IIT Bombay continues to strengthen its role in bridging the gap between research and commercialisation, reinforcing IIT Bombay’s position as a key enabler of scalable, impact-driven healthcare innovation in India.

About TIH IIT Bombay
The Technology Innovation Hub for Translational Research on IoT and IoE (TIH‑IoT) at IIT Bombay is a Section 8 not‑for‑profit company established under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber‑Physical Systems (NM‑ICPS). The Hub is dedicated to advancing translational research, entrepreneurship, and innovation across sectors including healthcare, BFSI, agriculture, Industry 5.0, smart infrastructure, and education. By fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and government, TIH IIT Bombay enables innovators to transform research into scalable solutions that serve both society and the economy. Through initiatives like the ATMAN accelerator, TIH IIT Bombay is building a sustainable bridge between concept and commercialization, positioning IIT Bombay as a central hub for next‑generation technologies.

Website- tihiitb.org/programs/innovation-entrepreneurship-development/atman-3
Instagram- www.instagram.com/tih_iitb
LinkedIn- www.linkedin.com/company/technology-innovation-hub

Startup Runway Table 

Prominent Attendees and Industry Leaders

The event witnessed participation from several respected leaders and decision-makers, including Mr. Hamid Dakhil, Dr. DJ Zawar, Mr. Puneet Thakur, Mr. Piyush Rathi, Mr. Vishal Dhoot, Mr. Manish K Prahlad, Mr. Ajay Data, Mr. Dheeraj Vijayvargiya, Mr. Adhiraj Mehra, Mr. Deepak Faria Shah, Mr. Jignesh Patel, Ms. Nitika Khurana, and Ms. Rhythm Jain, whose presence added strategic depth and credibility to the discussions.

L to R - Mr Mandhar, Mr Ajay Data, Mr. Hamid Dakhil, Ms. Shwera Choudhary

Strong Funding Momentum

One of the major highlights of the evening was the announcement of approximately Rs. 5 crore in investment interest, collectively expressed by 5–6 prominent leaders in attendance. The interest was directed toward multiple early-stage and growth-stage startups that presented during the event, showcasing strong business fundamentals, scalability, and market readiness.

Startup Runway Table: A Curated Innovation Showcase

A standout feature of the XLR8AR Innovation Jamboree was the Startup Runway Table, a specially curated experiential zone designed to give startups direct visibility with investors, mentors, and strategic partners. Unlike traditional exhibition formats, the runway table allowed founders to present their products, brand stories, and growth vision in an interactive, high-engagement environment.

The runway featured consumer and lifestyle brands such as Namo Jewellers, StepWhere, Esperance Bags, Hoora, Allure, HealthyScoop, and Rangat Jaipur, each demonstrating innovation across design, sustainability, wellness, and customer experience.

In addition, high-potential startups including Greenmanure, Hobnob, Aeyi, Growmyrx.ai, Edulyst, Ecowrap, and Loadmee attracted strong interest from investors and industry leaders for their technology-driven solutions, scalable models, and alignment with future market needs.

The Startup Runway Table played a pivotal role in initiating meaningful conversations, follow-up meetings, and early-stage investment discussions, making it one of the most impactful engagement formats of the evening.

Voices from the Ecosystem

Sharing his experience, MilapSinh Jadeja said, “The diversity and quality of the crowd stood out—networking with leaders from across India and beyond made this one of the most meaningful interactions.”

Vineet Khurana highlighted the maturity of participating startups, stating, “The SME startups showcased strong execution and impressive growth momentum. It’s encouraging to see founders scaling so quickly with such early-stage experience.”

Adding a strategic perspective, Yogesh Choudhary remarked, “It’s not just about capital; it’s about how effectively you leverage the business network around you. That’s where the real value lies.”

Key Highlights and Outcomes

• Strong cross-border collaboration synergies discussed among founders and investors

• Around Rs. 5 crore in co-investment interest announced for startups showcased at the runway and pitch sessions

• Entrepreneurs from multiple regions of India committed to joint collaborations targeted for 2026 expansion, strengthening the national startup ecosystem

The evening concluded with high-energy networking, reinforcing XLR8AR’s mission to create long-term, value-driven partnerships rather than one-time transactional interactions.

L to R: Onkar Bagaria, Mandar Shrikant Joshi, Shweta Choudhary, Anish Maheshwari, Digvijay Singh

Onkar Bagaria: Capital Discipline Meets Capability Building

Strategic Partner for Innovher, Onkar Bagaria brings a distinctive perspective shaped by investment banking, institutional leadership, and generational business wisdom. His grounding in structured finance and capital markets, coupled with his role as CEO at VGU, one of Rajasthan’s leading private university, allows him to bridge the often disconnected worlds of financial discipline and capability creation.

Within InnovHer, he plays a critical role in strengthening investor readiness frameworks, capital structuring confidence, governance orientation, and sustainable long-term planning. His family business legacy adds an important generational lens, focusing not only on growth but on reputation, credibility, and risk stewardship. For Tier 2 ventures aspiring to command serious institutional trust, his involvement ensures that capital aspiration is matched with financial prudence.

Mandar Shrikant Joshi: Aligning Tier 2 Ambitions With Global Standards

As Strategic Partner at Innovher for Global Venture Building and Ecosystem Design, Mandar Shrikant Joshi introduces a powerful international calibration layer to InnovHer’s mission. His experience spans venture building, startup ecosystems, investor readiness, and strategic alignment across multiple geographies and market cycles. He understands how founders evolve, how ecosystems mature, and what separates globally competitive ventures from locally confined aspirations.

At InnovHer, he focuses on aligning venture-building frameworks with international benchmarks, strengthening cross-border linkages, and preparing founders for global markets and capital expectations. His inputs are particularly impactful for sectors such as D2C, luxury, and lifestyle where aspiration must be backed with robust execution structures. Through his lens, InnovHer reinforces a central belief: Tier 2 origin is not a limitation. With the right discipline, founders from emerging ecosystems can build ventures that confidently operate on a global stage.

Anish Maheshwari: Governance Strength and Capital Stewardship

In a startup climate often driven by speed over structure, Anish Maheshwari, Director at VSure Investments, Mumbai, brings the stabilizing force of governance maturity and capital stewardship to InnovHer. As Strategic Partner at InnovHer for Corporate Governance and Capital Stewardship, he anchors the leadership bench with boardroom-grade seriousness.

He contributes deeply to corporate governance frameworks, investment structuring sanity, compliance sophistication, and investor confidence building. He ensures that ambition is supported by institutional safeguards, enabling founders to grow without exposing themselves to avoidable risks. At a time when credible investors increasingly demand transparency, discipline, and ethical capital management, his presence serves as a crucial assurance mechanism. For InnovHer, this balance between growth velocity and governance integrity is not optional. It is foundational.

Digvijay Singh: Architecting Digital Presence and Platform Trust

If InnovHer represents vision and institutional maturity, it also stands for lived mentorship and human evolution. Digvijay Singh, Director at InnovHer, represents that journey. Once mentored by InnovHer’s founder, he has grown into a core execution pillar and narrative custodian of the platform.

With a deep understanding of digital media, content ecosystems, and platform storytelling, he strengthens how InnovHer and its portfolio communicate credibility, trust, and relevance in today’s attention-driven digital economy. His work spans brand architecture, digital strategy, founder communication frameworks, narrative discipline, and media design. Beyond strategy, his journey from being a learner to becoming a leader reflects InnovHer’s belief in compounding human capital, not just financial capital.

A Convergence of Experience with One Aligned Mission

What truly distinguishes InnovHer’s leadership is not individual brilliance, but strategic complementarity. Capital markets expertise, governance strength, global venture wisdom, digital strategy, and institutional vision converge into one coherent operating philosophy: build ventures that are execution ready, capital credible, and institutionally governed from day one. With leaders like Onkar Bagaria, Mandar Shrikant Joshi, Anish Maheshwari, and Digvijay Singh rallying behind Dr. Shweta Choudhary’s vision, InnovHer’s momentum has moved beyond being founder driven. It is now institution anchored.

From Jaipur, InnovHer is quietly rewriting what Tier 2 entrepreneurship can represent in India. Not through noise. Not through rushed scaling. But by earning trust, building discipline, and nurturing a culture of seriousness around entrepreneurship. When experience aligns with purpose and integrity, institutions are not built overnight. They are built to endure. InnovHer stands as a testament to that belief.

24 Months of Entrepreneurial Innovation at InnovHer: Building Institutional-Grade Venture Outcomes from Jaipur

Jaipur, India - India’s startup ecosystem is at an inflection point. As capital becomes more selective and founders are increasingly evaluated on execution rather than vision alone, a new class of venture platforms is emerging—focused not on speed or scale optics, but on discipline, governance, and long-term value creation.

From a Tier-2 city, InnovHer has quietly positioned itself within this shift, demonstrating that institutional venture outcomes are no longer the exclusive domain of metro ecosystems.

In just two years of operations, InnovHer has built a credible venture creation and acceleration platform rooted in Jaipur-combining capital stewardship, founder readiness, and ecosystem infrastructure. Its recent milestone is particularly noteworthy: a first exit within one year, delivering an IRR of over 50%, an outcome that reinforces the platform’s thesis that disciplined venture building compounds faster than episodic acceleration.

Building from a Tier-2 City, by Design
Jaipur’s rise as an innovation hub has been gradual rather than headline-driven. While the city has long been known for education, culture, and enterprise, its startup ecosystem has historically lacked institutional venture builders capable of translating early-stage ambition into investor-grade companies.

InnovHer was founded to address this gap.

Rather than replicating metro-centric accelerator models, the platform adopted an institution-first approach-treating venture creation as infrastructure rather than programming. From the outset, InnovHer focused on embedding governance, execution rigor, and milestone-based capital deployment into its operating model.

This design choice has proven critical in a market where founders face increasing scrutiny around unit economics, compliance, and scalability-especially in Tier-2 regions.

Made by Women, Built for Durability
InnovHer is a woman-led platform, but more importantly, it is shaped by woman-led decision-making principles: execution clarity, accountability, and long-term thinking. Instead of positioning women as beneficiaries alone, InnovHer has embedded women across roles-as founders, mentors, investors, and ecosystem decision-makers.

This operating philosophy has influenced how risk is assessed, how capital is deployed, and how founders are supported. In an environment where hype-driven growth is increasingly penalised, this approach has translated into stronger governance and more resilient outcomes.

Numbers That Signal Institutional Credibility
Over the last two years, InnovHer’s ecosystem activity has translated into tangible outcomes that align with early-stage national benchmarks:

• Seed investments deployed: ₹65 lakhs across early-stage ventures

• Startups onboarded: 23 startups through structured acceleration and venture-building tracks

• Ventures built in-house: 4 ventures co-created with long-term equity ownership

• Co-investments enabled: ₹8 crore alongside investors and ecosystem partners

• Network created: 50+ venture capital firms, angels, and ecosystem enablers actively engaged

• National engagement: 100+ founders, investors, and leaders hosted in Jaipur from across India

• Mentorship & training: 50+ structured mentorship and capacity-building sessions delivered

• Exit milestone: First exit achieved within one year at 50%+ IRR

These figures are not positioned as scale metrics, but as credibility markers—demonstrating that Tier-2 platforms can generate investor-grade outcomes when built with discipline.

From Acceleration to Venture Creation
A defining characteristic of InnovHer’s model is its dual-engine structure. The platform operates both as:

• a venture studio, co-founding select ventures over multi-year horizons with embedded execution across product, GTM, finance, and governance; and

• a startup accelerator, working with external founders to impose execution discipline, capital readiness, and investor alignment.

This allows InnovHer to engage founders at different stages while maintaining accountability across the portfolio.

Every venture is evaluated through thesis alignment, stage gates, and decision-grade outputs—reducing narrative risk for investors and increasing clarity for founders.

Jaipur as a National Convergence Point
One of InnovHer’s most visible ecosystem impacts has been its ability to position Jaipur as a convening city for innovation dialogue. By hosting founders, investors, mentors, and ecosystem leaders from across India, InnovHer has helped shift the city’s role-from a regional participant to a national connector.

For Tier-2 cities, this kind of convergence is essential. It reduces founder isolation, attracts capital attention, and strengthens local confidence. InnovHer’s growing national network has played a key role in making Jaipur a credible stop on India’s startup map.

Capital Stewardship Over Capital Chasing
In a market correction cycle, InnovHer’s emphasis on capital stewardship has resonated strongly with investors—particularly family offices, operators, and strategic angels. Rather than chasing valuation spikes, the platform prioritises:

• milestone-linked capital deployment

• governance oversight and reporting cadence

• realistic exit thinking from early stages

The platform’s first exit, achieved within a year at a 50%+ IRR, is a direct outcome of this philosophy. It signals that disciplined early-stage execution can deliver liquidity faster than hype-driven scaling.

Why InnovHer’s Journey Matters
InnovHer’s progress is significant not just for Jaipur, but for India’s broader startup ecosystem. It demonstrates that:

• Tier-2 cities can host institutional-grade venture platforms

• Women-led leadership strengthens governance and execution outcomes

• Early exits and strong IRRs are possible outside metro clusters

• Venture creation, when treated as infrastructure, compounds faster than event-led ecosystems

As capital becomes more discerning, platforms that combine discipline, inclusion, and long-term thinking are likely to define the next phase of Indian entrepreneurship.

The Road Ahead

• Looking forward, InnovHer remains deliberately measured in its ambitions. The focus is on:

• deepening venture outcomes rather than expanding footprint prematurely

• strengthening co-investment pathways with aligned capital partners

• continuing to build Jaipur as a national innovation convergence point

• reinforcing women’s role as builders, investors, and ecosystem architects

Two years in, InnovHer is no longer an experiment. It is an operating venture creation platform—built from a Tier-2 city, made by women, and already delivering institutional outcomes.

For India’s evolving startup landscape, that may be one of the most important signals yet.

MCats Group Launches Thrive 10.0 to Empower DefenceTech and AgriTech Startups in India
 

Thrive 10.0 is designed to support early-stage and growth-stage startup founders working in Defence Technology and Agricultural Technology by providing practical mentorship, sector-specific insights, and structured venture-building support. The programme aims to help founders build scalable, sustainable businesses that address real-world challenges in these critical sectors.
 

As part of Thrive 10.0, Marwari Catalysts Group is introducing a corporate-linked pathway, enabling select founders to gain access to industry networks, corporate partnerships, and real-world business opportunities. This pathway will be seamlessly integrated into the programme, enhancing value for founders without operating as a separate initiative.
 

The launch of Thrive 10.0 comes at a pivotal moment as India’s DefenceTech market is projected to reach $19 billion by 2030, fueled by a 75% domestic procurement mandate and a surge in dual-use technologies. Simultaneously, the AgriTech sector is witnessing a digital revolution, with a projected valuation of over $34 billion by 2027 as precision farming and AI-driven supply chains become national priorities.
 

Focus on High-Impact Sectors: DefenceTech and AgriTech

Commenting on the launch, Sushil Sharma, CEO & Founder of Marwari Catalysts Group, said, “With the Indian government’s ‘Year of Reforms’ 2025 providing unprecedented policy support and a record $1 billion+ in venture capital flowing into Defencetech and Agritech sectors in the first half of the year alone, there has never been a more lucrative or strategically significant time for founders to scale innovations that safeguard India’s food and national security.”
 

India’s DefenceTech ecosystem is witnessing rapid growth driven by indigenisation, innovation, and government initiatives, while AgriTech continues to play a vital role in improving farmer productivity, sustainability, and rural livelihoods. Thrive 10.0 aligns with these national priorities by supporting founders building meaningful solutions in these domains.
 

What Thrive 10.0 Offers

Founders selected for Thrive 10.0 will benefit from:

• Structured learning programmes tailored to DefenceTech and AgriTech

• Mentorship from experienced founders and industry experts

• Ecosystem exposure and startup network access

• Opportunities for corporate engagement and industry collaboration
   

The programme is designed to help founders move forward with clarity, strategic direction, and execution confidence.
 

Marwari Catalysts Group continues to strengthen India’s startup ecosystem by backing purpose-driven innovation from emerging regions. The launch of Thrive 10.0 marks another significant step in supporting startups in sectors that are critical to India’s economic and technological future.
 

Applications for Thrive 10.0 are now open for founders building innovative solutions in DefenceTech and AgriTech.
Apply Now

About Marwari Catalysts Group
Marwari Catalysts Group (MCats) is one of India’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem player (Accelerator and Venture Studio), with mentors with skin in the game supporting 100+ early-stage ventures across 20+ cities backed by SEBI-approved CAT-I AIF. MCats provide capital, mentorship, and global market access to founders. Its portfolio has already created 5,000+ jobs while driving inclusion through 35% women-led startups and successfully done 11+ exits. We are headquartered in Jodhpur with regional offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Jaipur.

Twin Brothers-Parv Jain AIR 2 and ARGh Jain AIR 8 CLAT 2026

Students of LegalEdge - Delhi, the twins’ achievement stands out not only for the ranks they have secured, but for the clarity and discipline with which they pursued law as a first-choice career. At a time when many students remain uncertain about professional pathways after Class 10, Parv and Argh made an early, conscious decision to prepare for CLAT and committed themselves to a structured, long-term preparation plan.

Enrolled in LegalEdge Delhi’s two-year offline classroom programme at South Extension, the brothers followed nearly identical academic routines - attending the same classes, learning under the same mentors, and engaging in daily discussions to refine concepts across legal aptitude, logical reasoning, and quantitative techniques. Their parallel journey culminated in two Top-10 ranks, a rare outcome in the highly competitive CLAT ecosystem.

“Preparing together helped us stay consistent and grounded. Whenever one of us felt stuck, the other stepped in - and the structured mentoring at LegalEdge ensured we were always moving in the right direction,” the twins shared.

Their parents described the moment as deeply emotional. “Seeing both our sons choose the same path and succeed through discipline and sustained effort has been incredibly fulfilling,” they said.

Faculty members at LegalEdge Delhi describe Parv and Argh as disciplined, curious learners who trusted the process. “CLAT preparation is a marathon. When students commit early and stay consistent, results follow,” senior mentors noted.

“At LegalEdge Delhi & Gurugram, our focus has never been only on ranks, but on the journey of every student and the trust every parent places in us. We consciously work towards creating the right academic environment - one that combines structure, mentorship, emotional support, and consistency. When students feel guided and confident, outcomes follow naturally. Our student-to-selection ratio of nearly 4:1 is a reflection of this sustained, student-first approach rather than a numbers-driven mindset,” said Vikaas Wahi, Director, LegalEdge Delhi & Gurugram.

With Parv Jain (AIR 2) and Argh Jain (AIR 8) now set to join National Law University, Bengaluru, their story reflects how the right academic platform, combined with clarity of purpose and mentorship, can turn aspiration into achievement.

LegalEdge’s CLAT 2026 results from its Delhi centres (South Extension, Connaught Place, Pitampura and Dwarka) and Gurugram centres (Sector 14 and Nirvana) reflect this trend, with students securing four Top 10 ranks and fourteen Top 100 ranks, and over 300 expected NLU selections. The centres have earlier produced AIR 1 in CLAT 2025 and CLAT 2022, underscoring sustained academic consistency.

About Toprankers

Founded in 2016, Toprankers is a leading Indian EdTech platform focused on career counselling and entrance exam preparation for pathways beyond engineering and medicine. Its mission is to create awareness, access, and higher success rates for high-potential careers after Class 12 across Law, Management, Design, Humanities, Commerce, and Judiciary. LegalEdge was founded by Harsh Gagrani, along with Karan Mehta and Gaurav Goel, and is recognized for its classroom-led and mentorship-driven approach. Toprankers runs 50+ centres across India, teaching 20,000+ classroom students and serving 30,000+ learners overall, while operating India’s most-searched non-STEM test-prep platform, with 1.5M monthly users and 20M+ page views across Law, Management, and Design & Architecture.

Website: www.toprankers.com.

Panasonic leadership during Ignition 3.0, reinforcing commitment to co-creating scalable, tech-driven solutions for India’s residential ecosystem

Anchored in the theme “Residential Business Challenges,” this edition of Ignition spotlighted innovations that enhance modern living through smart technologies, sustainable practices, personal wellness, connected devices, and community-focused solutions.

IGNITE winner solutions in brief:

• Red Health - Operates a technology-led platform offering integrated emergency response services covering "first minute to last mile.

• Respirer Living Sciences - Develops IoT-enabled energy recovery ventilators that maintain healthy indoor air without wasting energy

Organized in partnership with Beyond Next Ventures, Panasonic Ignition attracted strong interest from India’s startup ecosystem, receiving 113 applications from early to mid-stage ventures across the country. Following a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process, 11 promising startups were selected for a three-month cohort, where they participated in curated masterclasses, received mentoring from Panasonic and Beyond Next Ventures, refined their business models, strengthened product strategy, and underwent technology validation with industry experts.

Mr. Tadashi Chiba, MD & CEO, Panasonic Life Solutions India, stated, “India is now the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, expanding rapidly at 12–15% each year. This momentum inspires us to deepen our commitment to co-creating meaningful solutions. Our philosophy, ‘Create Today, Enrich Tomorrow’ reminds us that innovation must serve a larger purpose, that is, improving the quality of life and contributing to an ideal society. The third edition of Panasonic Ignition embodies this belief, showcasing responsible, future-ready innovations that are poised to transform how people experience their homes and communities.”

With India’s residential landscape undergoing rapid transformation, Panasonic remains committed to collaborating with agile, forward-looking innovators. The insights and solutions emerging from this cohort will guide future product development, shape strategic partnerships, and enable market-ready innovations—all aligned with Panasonic’s long-term vision of delivering homes that are safer, smarter, more efficient, and truly enriching for customers across India.

Mr. Kunio Gohara, Chief Transformation Officer (CTRO) and Head of the CVC Office, Panasonic Corporation, said, “The Panasonic Kurashi Visionary Fund (PKVF) views India as one of the most important innovation ecosystems in the world. With Ignition’s third cohort, we see a new generation of startups building category-defining technologies in safety, wellness, energy, and community living. For us, Ignition is not only an accelerator—it is a strategic investment pipeline. As a CVC, we are committed to identifying founders who can become long-term partners in Panasonic’s global transformation. We will continue to explore investment opportunities in high-potential Indian startups and co-create solutions that can scale across markets and shape the future of residential living.”

Mr. Manish Misra, Chief Innovation Officer, Panasonic Life Solutions India (PLSIND), added, “At Panasonic, innovation is not just a function—it is how we create meaningful value for every resident we serve. Ignition 3.0 has shown the power of co-creating with startups to solve the rapidly evolving needs of Indian households. This year’s winners, Red Health and Respirer Living Sciences , embody the next generation of scalable, human-centric residential solutions. Their work reinforces our belief that collaborative innovation is the fastest path to building safer, healthier, and smarter homes for India."

Mr. Tsuyoshi Ito, President & CEO, Beyond Next Ventures, iterates, “Panasonic Ignition 3.0 has unearthed groundbreaking solutions that promise to make our homes safer, healthier, and more comfortable. We extend our heartiest congratulations to the winners, whose innovations in residential technology will continue to set a new benchmark. Through our partnership with Panasonic, we are excited for these startups to serve millions of households and communities worldwide. At Beyond Next Ventures, we are dedicated to empowering Indian entrepreneurs to expand their horizons through global partnerships.”

Alongside the IGNITE winners, Panasonic also recognized the ACCELERATE award winners —Ambiator, Biomoneta, Cantata, Kubo Care for their high-impact potential. These startups will work with Panasonic on pilot deployments and explore opportunities for mid-term strategic partnerships.

These solutions represent the next frontier of smart, sustainable, and human-centric technologies designed to elevate the residential and consumer lifestyle experience in India.

Panasonic Ignition has evolved from a focused startup accelerator into one of India’s most forward-looking open innovation platforms, now dedicated to solving large-scale, future-of-living challenges. From early cohorts focused on B2B energy management and consumer lifestyle solutions, Ignition 3.0 has matured into addressing system-level challenges across residential living, spanning safety, wellness, energy efficiency, and community infrastructure. Over three years, it has engaged with 700+ startups and forged deep partnerships with 46+ startups to build, validate, and scale real-world solutions.

About the Panasonic Group

Founded in 1918, and today a global leader in developing innovative technologies and solutions for wide-ranging applications in the consumer electronics, housing, devices, B2B solutions and energy sectors worldwide, the Panasonic Group switched to an operating company system on April 1, 2022 with Panasonic Holdings Corporation serving as a holding company. The Group reported consolidated net sales of 8,458.2 billion yen for the year ended March 31, 2025.

To learn more about the Panasonic Group, please visit: holdings.panasonic/global

About Beyond Next Ventures

Beyond Next Ventures is a leading DeepTech venture capital firm with a decade-long legacy of building and scaling science-driven startups that solve real-world challenges. Headquartered in Japan and expanding its presence in India, the firm is distinguished by its unique operator-first DNA, global market access, and deep cross-border networks spanning Japan, the U.S., and India. The firm is currently launching its first India-focused fund (USD 30–50 million), aiming to be the preferred partner for early-stage DeepTech startups and institutional LPs seeking high-impact, high-return investments. The firm is deeply committed to a future where science meets scale for global good. Beyond Next Ventures does this by investing in startups solving societal challenges in health, climate, and digital infrastructure, and where impact and returns are inherently synergistic.

To learn more about Beyond Next Ventures, please visit: beyondnextventures.com

Ruloi tea, an Assam based startup has launched one of India’s most affordable iced teas made with real tea brews and crafted for today’s discerning consumer seeking mindful refreshments. Launched under the brand name ‘Oji’, the iced teas are available in two delectable flavors-Lemon and Lychee, contain antioxidants and are enriched with Vitamin C, providing smart hydration and taste. The product is currently available in Assam via Drinkoji.com, leading retail outlets, national hypermarket chains, and neighbourhood mom-and-pop stores. It will soon be rolled out on quick-commerce platforms and in select cities across the Northeast and beyond.

Oji Launches Affordable Vitamin-c enriched Iced tea

Oji is one of the winners of Startup Challenge 2024 by Tetra Pak India, in partnership with Startup India, an initiative aimed at fostering innovation in India’s F&B ecosystem. Through the programme, Oji received comprehensive support in product development, mentorship, and commercialization, along with access to Tetra Pak’s Product Development Centre in Chakan for hands-on assistance in product formulation and testing.

Priced at an accessible INR 10 for each 160 ML carton and curated with one of the world’s finest teas naturally sourced from Assam, the product is made for the modern generation that values authentic experiences and mindful consumption. Packaged in convenient, hygienic, ready-to-drink Tetra Pak packaging, the teas are ideal for anyone seeking everyday refreshment with a touch of wellness.

Commenting on the launch, Bijit Sarma, Co-founder, Oji said, “Oji was born in the lush valleys of Assam, the cradle of the world’s finest teas, with a simple vision: to democratize access to healthy, flavorful beverages. We wanted to take the essence of Assam’s tea heritage and present it in a form that resonates with today’s youth – affordable, refreshing, and guilt-free. Every sip of Oji carries the soul of the Northeast, where authenticity meets innovation. With the unwavering support of Tetra Pak and Startup India, we have transformed a local dream into a national offering – proudly Indian in spirit, and global in appeal.”

Sagar Rai Deka, Co-founder, Oji added, “Our journey with Oji is about building a bridge between Assam’s natural wealth and the modern Indian lifestyle. We are committed to proving that a brand from the Northeast can redefine the beverage landscape nationally, by offering a product that’s authentic, functional, and genuinely good for you. Oji represents the future of Indian refreshment- proudly homegrown, sustainable, and made for everyone. We are grateful to the support we received from Tetra Pak and Startup India in bringing our vision to reality.”

“At Tetra Pak, we are deeply committed to nurturing India’s fast-evolving beverage innovation ecosystem. Oji Iced Tea is a perfect example of how passion and purpose can come together to create something truly refreshing - rooted in local heritage, yet globally relevant. Through the Startup Challenge, we are proud to have supported Oji’s journey from concept to shelf, providing access to our global expertise, paper-based packaging, and product development capabilities. Our goal remains clear - to empower homegrown innovators who are redefining the beverage industry,” Cassio Simoes, MD, Tetra Pak South Asia, commented.

Sanjiv Singh, Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Startup India said, “India’s startup ecosystem has become one of the most dynamic in the world, with over 180,000+ recognised startups across 770+ districts (as of August 2025). Nearly 52% of them are from tier-2 and 3 cities.

Home-grown startups are therefore in a unique position to combine global best practices with local insights, creating products that resonate with modern Indian consumers and push India’s reputation as a hub for food & beverage innovation. We are proud to support initiatives like Tetra Pak’s Start-Up Challenge and remain committed to fostering an ecosystem where these startups can scale, generate meaningful employment, and help India capture even greater value from its innovation landscape.”

Blending authentic tea brews with great taste and affordability, Oji represents a new era of mindful refreshment. Over the coming months, Oji plans to gradually expand its footprint beyond the Northeast, bringing its refreshing, iced teas to consumers across India through both modern and traditional retail channels.

About Oji Iced Tea
Oji Iced Tea is a next-generation ready-to-drink beverage brand from Ruloi Tea, founded by Bijit Sarma and Sagar Rai Deka – two entrepreneurs inspired by the tea-growing heritage of Assam and driven by the mission to make smart refreshment both delightful and accessible. Rooted in authenticity, Oji reimagines the timeless tradition of Assam tea for a new generation that seeks flavour, freshness, and conscious living. Every carton of Oji embodies the brand’s philosophy – authenticity, taste and affordability.

Backed by the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) and DST (Department of Science and Technology), Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) at IIT Bombay was established as a Section 8 not-for-profit company to advance translational research and technology-driven entrepreneurship. The Hub works across sectors such as healthcare, BFSI, agriculture, Industry 5.0, smart infrastructure, and education, translating innovation into practical outcomes that serve both industry and society.

Through ATMAN 3.0, TIH at IIT Bombay is deepening its engagement with the HealthTech ecosystem, helping innovators bring research-based medical solutions to market.

Current cohort includes 13 ventures addressing critical challenges across medical devices, digital health, assistive care, and clinical monitoring. Prezitec Health Private Limited has created Precigo, a snap-on needle tracking system that enhances precision during ultrasound-guided interventions. Shitashii Innovations has developed Emokeigo, a flexible, non-invasive device for speech-impaired patients. ATTOX Research Laboratories brings AMRIT, a rapid antimicrobial resistance testing solution targeting infections that claim millions of lives each year. Queliz Lifetech is advancing UltraHand, a robotic rehabilitation device aiding stroke and paralysis recovery. Brela Innovations has built Naibra, smart breast health monitoring pads promoting early detection of breast cancer. Intecog Logistech is introducing Thermadog, a temperature and theft monitoring solution for pharmaceutical logistics. Raycura Medical Technologies offers BETTER, a rehabilitation platform designed for post-stroke therapy. Saintiant Technologies has developed Vitus, a portable vital health monitoring system to check cardiac and metabolic health. DeepFacts Private Limited presents proRITHM, an AI-powered wearable platform for real-time patient monitoring. MicroHeal focuses on managing chronic gut disorders through a digital therapeutic approach. Miraii.ai has designed a voice-enabled smart ring for seniors to detect falls and trigger immediate alerts. Mythri MedTech Solutions has developed Vitals Care Pro, addressing cardio-metabolic diseases through continuous vitals tracking. Kode Blue Technologies introduces BLU+, an emergency care solution strengthening response systems across smaller cities.

Speaking about the initiative, Mr Kiran Shesh, CEO, Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) at IIT Bombay, said, “ATMAN 3.0 is designed to accelerate India’s HealthTech innovators from research to real-world impact. These entrepreneurs are addressing critical challenges that affect millions - ranging from access to diagnostics and rehabilitation to emergency response and chronic care. Our role is to provide structured mentorship, regulatory guidance, and investor access, enabling their technologies to scale responsibly. By creating a clear pipeline from prototype to commercialization, TIH IIT Bombay aims to strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem and position IIT Bombay as a leading hub for next-generation healthcare technologies.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Hardik Joshi, COO of Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) at IIT Bombay said, “ATMAN 3.0 is not just an accelerator, but a launchpad empowering Health-tech founders to innovate responsibly and scale with purpose. With a mission to cultivate an ecosystem where technology and patient-centric outcomes converge to shape a healthier future for India, we at TIH IIT Bombay aim to encourage the transformation of early prototypes into market-ready solutions, via tailored mentorship and strategic support. We are extremely delighted at hosting the third edition of ATMAN and we look forward to more such opportunities as we move towards a Viksit Bharat.”

The programme spans eight modules covering market discovery, product development, business strategy, financial planning, regulatory readiness, and investor engagement. Startups receive continuous mentorship from domain experts, clinicians, and business professionals, ensuring that innovation is balanced with clinical and commercial viability.

The last day of the program; the Demo Day on January 9, 2026 will feature startup pitches alongside discussions on investment trends, regulatory frameworks, and emerging technology models in healthcare. It will also serve as a platform for portfolio startups from earlier TIH IIT Bombay programmes to engage investors for follow-on funding and partnerships. Dedicated networking spaces will facilitate collaboration between founders, investors, and industry stakeholders, ensuring meaningful dialogue that extends beyond the event.

As India looks towards Viksit Bharat 2047, ATMAN 3.0 reinforces TIH-IIT Bombay ’s mission of building a sustainable bridge between research and enterprise. By supporting innovators through every stage, from concept to commercialization, the Hub continues to strengthen India’s position in global HealthTech development.

About TIH IIT Bombay

The Technology Innovation Hub for Translational Research on IoT and IoE (TIH‑IoT) at IIT Bombay is a Section 8 not‑for‑profit company established under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber‑Physical Systems (NM‑ICPS). The Hub is dedicated to advancing translational research, entrepreneurship, and innovation across sectors including healthcare, BFSI, agriculture, Industry 5.0, smart infrastructure, and education. By fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and government, TIH IIT Bombay  enables innovators to transform research into scalable solutions that serve both society and the economy. Through initiatives like the ATMAN accelerator, TIH IIT Bombay is building a sustainable bridge between concept and commercialization, positioning IIT Bombay as a central hub for next‑generation technologies.

Website - tihiitb.org/programs/innovation-entrepreneurship-development/atman-3/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/tih_iitb/

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/technology-innovation-hub/

MCats backing the boldest female founders

In an ecosystem where only 15% of funding goes to women founders, MCats is taking a decisive stand. With 35% female founders across its portfolio and women leading from within its own ranks, MCats is actively investing in an inclusive future. Thrive 9.0 is designed to scale these ventures from solving real-world Indian problems to achieving global impact.

MCats backing the boldest female founders

Introducing the Thrive 9.0 Cohort: Women Founders Driving Innovation

The current batch features visionary women founders building meaningful, scalable, and culture-rooted solutions across high-growth sectors:

Affordable Fertility & Healthcare Access, Founder -  Dr. Renu Sharma, Elara IVF
An Affordable chain expanding access to trusted fertility care, piloting in Rajasthan.

AI Sales Agent & Workflow Automation, Founder - Ruchika Sureka, Tvara
Private AI agents that automate sales workflows, boosting productivity and learning continuously.

Global Enablement Platform & MSME Growth, Founder - Mallika Jain, Leap Ahead India
Helping Indian MSMEs and founders access global buyers, funding, markets, and mentors.

AI for Mental Health & Memory Preservation, Founder - Neha Rajpurohit, Nostalgia Pages
A self-publishing memory capsule brand, preserving priceless school and college memories and community culture.

AI Fintech & Explainable Intelligence, Founder - Priyanka Bairathi, InteliQuant AI
InteliQuant AI empowers CXOs with real-time anomaly detection and AI enabled assurance that safeguards profitability and eliminates hidden losses.

AI Legal Tech & Compliance Solution, Founder - Rupal Mathur, Rhett
Reimagining legal compliance as a straightforward, accessible, and affordable process for startups and businesses.

 Investing in Impact: Opportunity Without Bias

“We do not only speak about women empowerment — we invest in it,” said Sushil Sharma, CEO & Founder - Marwari Catalysts Group.

“These women founders come from real India, solve real challenges, and are ready for real scale. Their success proves that innovation has no gender — and leadership has no boundaries.”

Marwari Catalysts is one of the partner organisations Women in Innovation Science & Entrepreneurship (WISE), an initiative led by BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Women Empowerment Vertical (BRICS CCI WE).

According to Ms.  Ruby Sinha, President, BRICS CCI WE and Programme Lead, BRICS CCI WE WISE, “Innovation,  collaboration and access to funding are core pillars of the WISE initiative and we commend Marwari Catalysts for their efforts to empower women entrepreneurs with a focus on technology, thus advancing the cause of inclusive innovation for creating a sustainable global economy.’’

Divya Multani Jain, Partner - Marwari Catalysts Group, added, “MCats understands India beyond metros, and together, we are building solutions rooted in culture and community, giving them a global platform.”

MCats’ mission for women-led ventures is clear:

• Discovered early in non-metro ecosystems.

• Backed with capital and conviction (seeking co-investors to accelerate the journey).

• Supported with networks that accelerate 5-10x scale in revenue and valuation.

• Celebrated as powerful leaders shaping tomorrow.

Ankita Sachdeva, Joint Director - BRICS CCI, highlighted: “With the joint efforts of BRICS and MCats, we will provide domestic and global fund, exposure, and network access from the international market. We are happy to collaborate with the MCats team and the founders.”

We extend an invitation to strategic co-investors and global ecosystem enablers whose vision aligns with supporting women entrepreneurship and scaling their impact. Become a member of the MCats Club to deploy capital with conviction and actively participate in our mission to champion diverse founders.

About Marwari Catalysts (MCats)-

Marwari Catalysts Group (MCats) is one of India’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem players (Accelerator and Venture Studio). Headquartered in Jodhpur, with regional offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Jaipur, MCats manages a SEBI-approved CAT-I AIF.

MCats is actively supporting 100+ early-stage ventures across 20+ cities, backed by mentors with skin in the game. Its portfolio drives inclusion with 35% women-led startups and has already created 5,000+ jobs and successfully completed 11+ exits.

Welcome to MCats Family!

Namma Bengaluru Challenge '26 Shortlists Top 15 Finalists from Record 600 Applications to Tackle Urban Climate Crisis

The finalists were chosen from a record-breaking pool of close to 600 registrations, demonstrating the nation’s vibrant entrepreneurial response to environmental sustainability. A technical evaluation now awaits the shortlisted startups, with an expert technical jury meticulously assessing each of the 15 startups ahead of the final round. The top selected startups will then advance to the final stage, where they will pitch live before a distinguished final jury on January 24, 2026, to compete for implementation grants of up to INR 25 lakhs each.

A Rigorous Selection Process
The journey to the top 15 involved a meticulous evaluation by Social Alpha. The criteria framework in which the evaluation happened were areas such as innovation, go-to-market strategy, implementation, etc. The technical jury will play a very crucial role in assessing each of the 15 shortlisted startups before the final round. The technical jury comprises:

• Vineet Prasani, Chief Information Officer at Social Alpha

• Vishwanath S, Director at Biome Environmental Solutions

• Sridhar L, Head of ESG at Bangalore International Airport Limited 

• Jagan Shah, CEO at The Infravision Foundation

• Aarathi Kumar, Senior Manager, Executive Office at WRI India

• Suhail Rahman, Managing Director and CEO at CoEvolve Estates 

The application breakdown highlighted the city's key concerns: Waste Management (44%), Water & Sanitation (32%), Sustainable Construction (18%), and Air Pollution (6%)

The Final Showdown & a Consortium for Impact
The finalists will present their solutions to the Final Jury comprising:

• Prashanth Prakash (Co-Founder and Chairperson, UnboxingBLR)

• Malini Goyal (Co-Founder and CEO, UnboxingBLR)

• Manoj Kumar (Founder, Social Alpha)

• Hari Marar (Managing Director and CEO, BIAL)

• Pavitra Shankar (Managing Director, Brigade Group)

The winning startups will receive grant funding of INR 25 lakhs and crucial support for 6-month pilot deployments with government, private sector, and civil society partners in Bengaluru.

"NBC '26 bridges the critical gap between innovation and implementation. The Top 15 represent solutions with the highest potential for real-world impact in Bengaluru. We are now one step closer to deploying these technologies on the ground, in partnership with government and private stakeholders," Prashanth Prakash, Co-Founder and Chairperson, UnboxingBLR.

"The overwhelming quality and volume of applications for NBC '26 signals a powerful shift. Innovators are actively building the toolkit for urban climate resilience. Selecting only 15 startups from nearly 600 brilliant ideas was a formidable task, and we congratulate those moving forward to the final pitch," Malini Goyal, Co-Founder and CEO, UnboxingBLR.

“The Namma Bengaluru Challenge reflects our commitment to advancing science and technology-led solutions that can meaningfully shape Bengaluru’s urban transition. In anchoring the technical jury process, our role has been to ensure a rigorous evaluation framework, one that prioritises solution robustness, pilot feasibility, impact potential, and scalability, while drawing on the expertise of distinguished subject matter experts in the ecosystem. This stage is crucial in surfacing solutions that are both visionary and deployable in real-world conditions, ahead of the final jury deliberations,” Manoj Kumar, Founder, Social Alpha.

“Bangalore has been home to many a startup and has long served as India’s natural sandbox for innovation. As India rises as a global startup hub, the city is at the heart of it, offering founders not just access to talent but an entire collaborative ecosystem. NBC presents a unique opportunity to plug into a platform designed to bring together government, corporates and entrepreneurs to create solutions that address local challenges. With climate change and unplanned rapid growth impacting the future of cities, aligning innovation with environmental responsibility is imperative. As an organisation with deep roots in Bangalore, Brigade is focused on creating sustainable spaces that serve the needs of our individual customers and community at large. There is nothing more important than channelling this collective effort to build a future-ready Bangalore,” Pavitra Shankar, Managing Director, Brigade Group.

NBC '26 is powered by a strong consortium of partners committed to systemic change:

Challenge Partners

• Bangalore International Airport Limited

• Brigade Group

Program Partners

• Bengaluru Climate Action Cell (Climate Action Partner)

• WRI India (Knowledge Partner)

• Brigade REAP

• CoEvolve Estates (Pilot Partner)

• Biome Environmental Solutions (Pilot Partner)

• GoodEarth (Pilot Partner)

About UnboxingBLR
UnboxingBLR (UBLR) is a Bengaluru-focused collaborative platform dedicated to celebrating and shaping the city’s culture and identity. Founded in 2023 by Prashanth Prakash and Malini Goyal, UBLR brings together people, communities, and institutions to co-create Bengaluru’s story, serving as a city champion, idea catalyst, and collaborative platform.

UBLR drives initiatives such as the Namma Bengaluru Challenge, an accelerator that supports startups and changemakers tackling urban challenges; BLR Hubba, a city-wide festival celebrating art and culture; the annual We Are City Data Report, a data-driven snapshot of how citizens experience and engage with Bengaluru; and Code to Culture, a podcast exploring the city and its people. Together, these initiatives highlight citizen-led innovation and showcase Bengaluru’s cultural vibrancy in action.

For more information, please log on to www.unboxingblr.com.

Marwari Catalysts Group, under its Venture Studio Model, has entered the affordable IVF space in India with the launch of Elara IVF - a fertility centre committed to affordable, accessible focused in tier2-3 cities. This marks the fourth healthcare start-up in MCats Group’s portfolio, alongside Sarathi Healthcare, Nuskha Kitchen, and One Dose.
 

Marwari Catalysts enters affordable IVF with Elara IVF under its Venture Studio model
 

Elara IVF, Founder and COO, Dr Renu Sharma, is known for providing affordable IVF and ICSI treatments with a strong focus on transparency and patient education. This reflects a shared vision - to make quality fertility care more accessible to couples across India.
 

Sushil Sharma, Founder & CEO of Marwari Catalysts Group, said, “The global fertility market is a massive opportunity, yet affordability continues to be the biggest barrier. We are solving this challenge by ensuring high-quality IVF care reaches families not just in metros but in smaller cities. We will also attract global medical tourism for IVF. Marwari Catalysts Group has always been seen as the brand ambassador for Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities of India, and therefore we have started our pilot in Jodhpur and Ajmer.”
 

Dr Renu Sharma, stated, “Having worked with multiple IVF centres (Zivia, Apex, EHCC, CK Birla Hospital), I realized there is a massive opportunity and significant gap - especially in smaller cities where access to affordable IVF is limited, with the right business model. We aim to build India’s largest affordable IVF chain. We have already launched centres in Jodhpur (Dr Nimisha Balara) and Ajmer (Dr Mahiraj Gaur), and within the coming year, we are targeting 20+ centres across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in next 12 months.”
 

Dr. Seema Chaudhary, Founder & Managing Director, Seema Finchem Industry (Mumbai) and Advisory Board Member at Elara IVF, said, “Elara IVF offers an industrial level of discipline, efficiency, standardization and transparency into fertility care. This approach is exactly what India needs to make IVF truly affordable and rapidly scalable across small cities ensuring that high quality reproductive care becomes accessible to families everywhere.”
 

Gajendra Singh, Director of Elara IVF, added, “With Marwari Catalysts Group’s support, we aim to expand our reach and continue making fertility care simpler and more affordable for everyone who needs it.”
 

As India’s healthcare sector continues to prioritize access and affordability, this initiative underscores Marwari Catalysts Group’s growing commitment to supporting meaningful innovation for Bharat.
 

About Marwari Catalysts
Marwari Catalysts Group (MCats) is one of India’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem player (Accelerator and Venture Studio), with mentors with skin in the game supporting 100+ early-stage ventures across 20+ cities backed by SEBI-approved CAT-I AIF. MCats provide capital, mentorship, and global market access to founders. Its portfolio has already created 5,000+ jobs while driving inclusion through 35% women-led startups and successfully done 11+ exits. We are headquartered in Jodhpur with its regional offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Jaipur.

Mysuru Dasara Drone Show | BotLab Drone Shows | Guinness World Record 

The record was awarded for the “Largest aerial display of a mammal formed by multirotors/drones,” achieved with an extraordinary Tiger formation created using a fleet of 3,000 indigenously developed drones. Out of these, 2,983 drones lit up the sky flawlessly, forming a breathtaking representation of the tiger, India’s national animal.

The formation was witnessed by more than 35,000 spectators daily at the Bannimantap Parade Grounds, who erupted in applause as the massive, glowing tiger emerged in the night sky. The historic moment unfolded during BotLab Dynamics’ fourth consecutive year performing drone shows at the Mysuru Dasara festival, a relationship that continues to blend tradition with world-class technological innovation.

BotLab Dynamics presented a series of four drone light shows at Mysuru Dasara on 28 & 29 September and 1 & 2 October, each featuring 12 intricately crafted formations. But it was the 28 September record attempt that made global headlines, cementing India’s name in the Guinness World Records once again.

A New Benchmark for India in the Global Drone Show Industry

Across the world, massive drone shows, often dominated by large Chinese companies, regularly trend online for their complex formations and scale. For years, international audiences believed that such advanced, high-volume aerial displays were out of reach for most other countries.

Mysuru Dasara 2025 decisively changed that narrative.

The Tiger Drone Formation not only matched global standards but exceeded expectations in both scale and artistic delivery. In the days following the show, national and international media outlets praised the precision of the display, with videos of the tiger formation circulating widely on social platforms. Viewers across the world expressed admiration and surprise - that such a flawless mega-show had been developed, manufactured, and executed entirely in India.

Click here to watch the Mysuru Dasara Tiger Formation in its full glory: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IxF_97qi0Y

As an Indian startup founded by IIT Delhi engineers, BotLab Dynamics has invested years in building indigenous hardware, software ecosystems, and drone show protocols. The record-setting performance at Mysuru underscores technological mastery and India’s rising stature in the global creative-tech and entertainment industries.

Five Guinness World Records in 2024: A Foundation for Greatness

This new world record builds on the company’s extraordinary performance in 2024, when BotLab Drone Shows secured five Guinness World Records in a single show at the Amaravati Drone Summit in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, on 22 October 2024 - a show powered by an impressive 5,500 drones.
 

The five titles included:

1. Largest Aerial Display of a Vehicle

2. Largest Aerial Landmark Display

3. Largest Aerial Display of a Planet

4. Largest Aerial Logo Display

5. Largest Aerial Image of a Flag

BotLab Dynamics: An Indian Success Story

Founded within the halls of IIT Delhi, BotLab Dynamics has emerged as one of India’s most influential and is amongst the top 5 drone show companies in the world, shaping how events, festivals, and governments engage audiences at scale. The company designs and manufactures all its drone show systems in India, a differentiator that has placed it at the forefront of the nation’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliance) movement.

By achieving yet another Guinness World Record, they have strengthened its position as a global competitor in an industry traditionally led by a handful of international players.

Reflecting on the achievement, Dr. Sarita Ahlawat, Co-founder & MD of BotLab Dynamics, said, “This milestone is a proud moment for our team and for India’s drone-tech ecosystem. The Tiger formation reflects the strength and creativity our country is capable of. Since the record, we’ve seen a surge in interest from major corporate and government bodies in attempting more Guinness World Records; it’s created a ripple effect, and we have some exciting projects ahead, so stay tuned.”

For more information or to book a drone show with BotLab Dynamics, visit: www.botlabdynamics.com

Mr Bikram Singh Bedi, MAHE alumnus and Vice President, Asia Pacific Strategic Initiatives, Google Cloud, felicitates young startup founders during the 33rd Convocation of MAHE

Mr Bikram Singh Bedi, MAHE alumnus and Vice President, Asia Pacific Strategic Initiatives, Google Cloud, New Delhi, honoured the student entrepreneurs on Saturday in Manipal, Karnataka. In his address, Mr Bedi emphasised the need for continuous reinvention in a rapidly evolving world shaped by artificial intelligence. He stated that graduates were entering a defining moment in history, as AI is transforming every sector. He urged them to approach technology responsibly and consider its societal implications, advising, “Do not just build or use technology, do it responsibly. Always ask not only whether something can be built, but whether it should be built.”

The Innovation Centre, MAHE, organised the event, which recognised six student entrepreneurs from the graduating Batch of 2025.

Dr Mahima Mishra, Founder, InfiniClinickart Supplies LLP, and MCODS alumna, was recognised for her contributions to dental health innovation. Her work has earned national and international accolades, including the Manipal COVID Challenge, the MAHE Business Idea Competition, and the ESOT Hackathon in Europe. She has also secured the 7 lakh NIDHI-PRAYAS grant, with notable products such as Sterident and ClinicKart.

Arjun Sanjiv Kohli, Founder, Instrumus Technologies Pvt. Ltd and MIT Manipal alumnus, was honoured for establishing a DeepTech enterprise focused on industrial digitisation and advanced manufacturing. His company collaborates with institutions such as BITS and MAHE, supports over 50 manufacturing clients, and consistently records monthly revenues above 5 lakhs.

Tushar Raj, Founder of PhotonSilica | PHSI Technologies & Research Pvt. Ltd., was acknowledged for his rapid progress in the DeepTech sector. Listed among the Top 100 Desi DeepTech Startup Founders, he has secured DLI beneficiary status under MeitY and achieved 45 lakhs in revenue within four months. His earlier startup also achieved a successful exit.

Mr Ryan Bantu, Founder, GoPerch Innovations Pvt. Ltd, was recognised for his contributions to AI-driven and hardware-based product development. The company has generated 45 lakhs in recent months, served over 13 clients, and created employment for eight professionals. His team also secured the runner-up position at the Forbes Marshall Competition.

Arnav Agrawal, Founder, Thapy Technologies Pvt. Ltd, was appreciated for his work in the mental health domain. With over 100 active users, recognition as an On-Campus Hult Prize Finalist, and the creation of 10 employment opportunities, the venture is emerging as a promising mental health platform.

Mithilesh B, Founder of Your Lyf, was honoured for advancements in nutrition technology. The company’s products are available in over 50 retail outlets, with its oat topping product selling over

5,000 units within three months. With revenues surpassing 20 lakhs, the brand is gaining strong market traction.

Senior MAHE leadership, including Lt. Gen. (Dr.) M. D. Venkatesh, VSM (Retd); Vice Chancellor, Dr Narayana Sabhahit, Pro Vice Chancellor, Technology & Science, Dr Sharath Rao, Pro Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences, Dr Dilip G. Naik, Pro Vice Chancellor, Mangalore Campus, Dr P. Giridhar Kini, Registrar, Dr Anand Venugopal, Chief Operating Officer, Operations, Cdr. (Dr.) Anil Rana, Director, MIT Manipal and Dr Gopalakrishnan Dharmarajan, Dean, MCODS Manipal, attended the ceremony.

In his concluding address, Lt. Gen. (Dr.) M. D. Venkatesh, VSM (Retd), the Vice Chancellor, highlighted MAHE’s growing startup ecosystem and the rising number of student-led ventures. He emphasised that MAHE is shaping graduates who create opportunities and contribute to industries, communities, and national development as future job creators.  

About Manipal Academy of Higher Education

The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) is an Institution of Eminence Deemed-to-be University. MAHE offers over 400 specialisations across the Health Sciences (HS), Management, Law, Humanities & Social Sciences (MLHS), and Technology & Science (T&S) streams through its constituent units at campuses in Manipal, Mangalore, Bengaluru, Jamshedpur, and Dubai. With a remarkable academic track record, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and significant contributions to research, MAHE has earned recognition and acclaim both nationally and internationally. In October 2020, the Ministry of Education, Government of India, awarded MAHE the prestigious Institution of Eminence status. Currently ranked 3^rd in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), MAHE is the preferred choice for students seeking a transformative learning experience and enriching campus life.

50cr raised by Marwari Catalysts portfolio startups 

MCats Accelerator and Venture Studio continue to drive investor confidence in founders across healthcare, sustainability, AI, and consumer brands — a positive signal for India’s evolving startup landscape.

Funding Across High-Impact Sectors

The raise spans a diverse set of emerging industries, each addressing pressing challenges and opportunities in India’s heartland:

• Affordable Fertility Care (Elara IVF) – designed for aspirational Tier II markets.

• Fintech-Enabled B2B E-Commerce Platform for Building Materials (Mad Over Building).

• Insurtech (Inka) – redefining insurance access for India’s underserved communities through digital innovation and simplicity.

• Healthtech (Sarathi Healthcare) – elderly care platform enhancing dignified, last-mile access to healthcare and assisted living.

• Consumer Brands (TURMS) – intelligent wear engineered with advanced fabric technology, designed for comfort, performance, and the Indian lifestyle.

• Mobility & Logistics (DOCO) – overcoming non-metro transport and supply-chain gaps.

More details will be announced soon. Investors include angel investors, family offices, impact funds, and corporate innovation teams — signalling broad cross-sector confidence in the MCats approach. This is also a strong validation that family offices and HNIs are increasingly interested in the venture studio model.

Founder’s Perspective

“This is not just capital—it’s validation,” said Sushil Sharma, Founder of Marwari Catalysts Group. “These startups are solving real problems, building for real India, and showing that innovation isn’t confined to geography.”

A Larger Shift in the Ecosystem

This consolidated raise reflects a wider shift in investor mindset—from chasing valuations in metros to backing sustainable, scalable ventures emerging from India’s smaller cities. For MCats, it reaffirms its mission to bridge the gap between opportunity and origin, ensuring talented founders are discovered, funded, and scaled.

About Marwari Catalysts

Marwari Catalysts Group (MCats) is one of India’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem player (Accelerator and Venture Studio), with mentors with skin in the game supporting 100+ early-stage ventures across 20+ cities backed by SEBI-approved CAT-I AIF. MCats provide capital, mentorship, and global market access to founders. Its portfolio has already created 5,000+ jobs while driving inclusion through 35% women-led startups and successfully done 11+ exits. We are headquartered in Jodhpur with regional offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Jaipur.

Welcome to MCats Family!

Mr Jairaj Bhattacharya, CEO & MD, ConveGenius Group at the launch of Swiftee

Despite the rapid scale of device shipments, most classroom hardware still functions as passive screens, with limited ability to support how children actually learn. ConveGenius is addressing this gap by introducing a new category that shifts India’s devices from Hardware to Heartware. Heartware is the AI layer that makes hardware emotionally aware, contextually relevant, and purpose-driven for learning.

At the centre of this shift is Swiftee, an on-device multimodal AI companion that transforms any tablet, panel, or device into an active, guided learning tool. Positioned as a “heartware” layer, Swiftee sits atop existing hardware to make digital learning safer, more personal, and more meaningful for children aged 5 to 18. Built on ConveGenius’ decade-long research in AI-led learning, Swiftee offers capabilities such as homework support, safe search, creative exploration, emotional check-ins, and guided engagement. Live demos at the summit showcased Swiftee running seamlessly across diverse hardware ecosystems and operating systems, reinforcing how easily it integrates with both entry-level and premium devices.

Unlike generic cloud-AI tools, Swiftee works in low-connectivity settings, understands multilingual inputs, and responds safely around children. For OEMs, this means a device is no longer just a screen. It becomes an intelligent assistant built for real learning use cases, an evolution the education sector has long awaited.

On the vision behind Swiftee, Jairaj Bhattacharya, CEO, ConveGenius Group said: “Over the last ten years, we’ve learned that AI becomes meaningful only when it fits the lives of the people it is meant to support. We’ve seen this firsthand across 22 states and 170 million users. That is why we built Swiftee-to make AI relevant for students, helpful for teachers, and dependable for parents and schools. It is intelligence shaped by India and not imported for India. Swiftee has the potential to immensely contribute towards accomplishing India’s commitment for ensuring inclusive and quality education to all children by 2030.”

With Swiftee’s API framework, hardware companies can also build custom AI agents to shape solutions around the exact needs of their buyers. Wellbeing support for students, assistance for teachers, lesson planning automation, curriculum-aligned remediation, and much more. The possibilities are endless.

“Everyone is excited about AI, but operational challenges like cloud costs, unpredictable behaviour, and constant oversight often hold hardware players back,” said Viprav Chaudhary, Senior Vice President, ConveGenius. “Swiftee removes those constraints. It runs locally, operates on safe AI guardrails, and works with all types of hardware. There’s no need to rebuild systems, one can plug into our stack and start delivering value immediately.”

Industry partners echo this sentiment. Mrs. Kamini Talwar from Iris Global Services said, “Education has long needed a solution that goes beyond hardware upgrades and brings educational intelligence directly into the device. An AI layer like Swiftee makes hardware truly meaningful for classrooms, adapting to real use cases for students, supporting teachers in instruction, and helping schools deliver better learning outcomes. This is the kind of custom-built innovation the education sector has been waiting for.”

As India’s device market continues to grow, the next phase will not only be defined by bigger screens or faster processors, but also by the intelligence that lives inside them. Swiftee represents this new category of Heartware, where devices become intelligent companions that understand classroom realities and accordingly support learning.

About ConveGenius
ConveGenius is a leading AI and EdTech company delivering learning, assessment, and data-intelligence solutions for state governments and education partners. Its data and AI tools power decision-making at Vidya Samiksha Kendras (VSKs) and bring data-driven governance to public education across India.

epikdoc, a leading AI-driven dental platform

At the core of this launch is a commitment to addressing one of dentistry’s biggest challenges: trust. India lacks a robust system of primary dental healthcare, leaving patients uncertain about inconsistent treatment plans, non-standardized costs, and insufficient transparency. This erosion of trust has impacted both patients and ethical practitioners. epikdoc aims to change that. By combining preventive AI diagnosis with simplified patient explanations through XrayIQ, boosting doctor productivity with EpikVoice, enhancing efficiency with epikLabs, and enabling direct collaboration among patients, clinics, and labs, epikdoc Pro delivers a unified ecosystem that is transparent, efficient, and centered on patient well-being.

“Dentistry in India has long needed a bridge between patients, practitioners, and labs,” said Dr. Sanjeet Shanker, Founder & CEO, epikdoc. “With epikdoc Pro and Patient LLM, we are not just adding features, we are rebuilding the foundation of trust in oral healthcare. Finally, an AI built by dentists for dentists. By making it an active partner in preventive care, diagnosis, and patient understanding, we are enabling dentists to focus on care while empowering patients with clarity and confidence.”

epikdoc Pro has been designed as a complete platform for the entire dental care journey. Patients benefit from preventive insights, AI-driven second opinions, and enhanced clarity with color-coded X-rays, features that are already driving revenue growth for clinics by up to 30 percent. Doctors save 5–7 hours weekly with intelligent voice-to-notes, CRM tools, recall billing, and streamlined patient engagement. epikLabs, which is currently being tested in three dental labs in India, has also gained from automated workflows. Until now, phone calls and WhatsApp communication have dominated, but these are now replaced with a seamless interface. Technician timers, traceable deliveries, and WhatsApp-enabled pickups ensure efficiency across the value chain.

The platform’s impact is already visible at scale. Since its inception, epikdoc has connected more than 100 clinics, facilitated over 13,000 second opinions, supported 640+ doctors across India, and performed more than 1.8 million AI-powered X-ray reads. These numbers highlight the growing adoption of epikdoc’s technology as the future of oral healthcare.

Looking ahead, epikdoc sees immense opportunity in the dental care ecosystem. With the current addressable market valued at $44 billion, the company is confident about capturing a significant share of it through continued innovation and patient-centric solutions.

About epikdoc
epikdoc is India’s first Dental Super App, built by dentists for dentists. Designed as a connected ecosystem for patients, dentists, and labs, it integrates AI-assisted diagnosis, voice-powered documentation, lab workflows, and secure patient data management. With DPDP and ABHA compliance, epikdoc ensures privacy, transparency, and trust while helping clinics and labs scale operations seamlessly. By bridging patients, doctors, and labs, epikdoc is redefining modern dentistry in India and shaping the future of oral healthcare worldwide.

Founder Neeraj and Co Founder Vivek - Kenko

Since its inception in 2023, The Kenko Life has emerged as one of Bengaluru’s leading health-focused food subscription companies. It currently serves [800+ active subscribers] across the city, operates four cafés, and delivers over [21,000 meals every month], backed by 300% year-on-year topline growth and industry-leading repeat purchase rates. Built on a foundation of nutrition science, everyday convenience, and culinary creativity, Kenko has become the go-to choice for urban consumers and corporates seeking food that’s both healthy and enjoyable.

L to R- Co Founder Vivek, Nithin Kamath and Foudner Neeraj

With this round, Kenko will deepen its operations in Bengaluru and expand to Hyderabad, while investing in product development, technology, and team growth. The funds will be used to expand its product portfolio with clean-ingredient desserts and standardized calorie-counted Indian Thalis, strengthen kitchen capacity and last-mile delivery systems, and build robust technology and data infrastructure for a personalized food experience through a consumer app. Kenko also plans to enhance its nutrition counselling services, build on its eco-friendly packaging solutions across its product lines, and continue to educate urban audiences on the value of calorie- and macro-counted eating through focused marketing initiatives. Over the next 18–24 months, Kenko plans to operate six cafés, launch its mobile app, and introduce two new product lines, Protein Packed Low Calorie No Sugar Desserts and High Protein Indian Thali Meals.

“At Rainmatter, we want to support founders who are solving problems around health and nutrition with a long-term view,” said Nithin Kamath, Founder & CEO, Zerodha. “We are happy to support the team at Kenko who are building solutions around everyday food that is right for you. Healthy food in India has usually been either boring or unaffordable, and Kenko is changing that by making it tasty, accessible, and appropriate for the right nutrition for individuals and families. We believe this is a category that will grow as more Indians become aware of the importance of eating clean and right.”

“People don’t want another diet chart. They want healthy food without the extra effort, food that fits into their day, not food they have to plan their day around. With this round, we’re going all in on what truly sets Kenko apart: science-backed nutrition, consistently measured on a scale, and meals that feel like your home food,” said Neeraj Kumar, Founder of The Kenko Life.

“Healthy eating shouldn’t feel like a compromise; it should feel like a habit you enjoy,” added Vivek Chandran, Co-Founder of The Kenko Life. "This funding allows us to scale that experience, expanding into Hyderabad, building deeper personalization through technology, and making everyday nutrition a way of life for modern India.”

India’s health-focused food services market is valued at $2–3 billion and growing at a 20–25% CAGR. Within this, subscription-based healthy meals are emerging as a fast-growing segment. With its strong community-led growth, deep nutrition expertise, and focus on operational consistency, Kenko is well-positioned to lead the evolution of everyday nutrition in India.

About The Kenko Life
Founded in January 2023, The Kenko Life is a Bengaluru-based health-first food company offering personalized, nutritionist-backed meal subscriptions and clean-ingredient desserts designed for modern Indian lifestyles. By combining data-driven nutrition, everyday accessibility, and culinary innovation, Kenko aims to make eating healthy effortless and enjoyable. 

For more information, visit www.thekenkolife.com

Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Pro Chancellor along with Young innovators from Chitkara University who showcased their startups at Microsoft Office, Gurugram

Before embarking on this remarkable journey, the student founders had the honour of meeting Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Pro Chancellor, Chitkara University, whose words of encouragement filled them with renewed confidence and purpose. Addressing the students, Dr. Madhu Chitkara said, “At Chitkara University, we believe that entrepreneurship is not just about creating businesses but about creating impact. Our students are equipped with the mindset to innovate fearlessly, persevere relentlessly, and build meaningfully. I am immensely proud to see them represent the University at such a prestigious platform and translate their ideas into ventures that can make a real difference.”

At the Microsoft Office, the young entrepreneurs presented their pioneering startups before a distinguished panel comprising investors, mentors, and members of the Microsoft leadership team. Their ventures spanned diverse sectors including healthtech, edtech, sustainability, and artificial intelligence, reflecting the University’s emphasis on innovation with social relevance and scalability.

Among the standout teams, InTheBox, Ecosteelix, and Navgati were recognised as the top three startups and awarded cash prizes for their innovative solutions. Several other teams received special recognitions and Microsoft goodies, while two startups drew deeper investor interest for mentorship and potential collaboration — a testament to the entrepreneurial drive flourishing at Chitkara University.

This initiative, organised under the aegis of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED), provided student entrepreneurs with valuable exposure, industry insights, and feedback from seasoned investors and business leaders.

Reflecting the spirit of Chitkara University — where ideas take shape, dreams find direction, and innovation meets opportunity — the event highlighted the tangible outcomes of a learning environment that integrates academic excellence with real-world experience.

Chitkara University takes immense pride in empowering students to dream big, build boldly, and shape the future of innovation, reinforcing its position as a leading institution committed to developing the next generation of changemakers.

About Chitkara University
Chitkara University is a distinguished private institution known for its commitment to fostering academic excellence, research, and innovation across various disciplines. With a focus on creating leaders of tomorrow, the university offers a wide array of undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs that equip students with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to succeed in an ever-evolving global landscape.

For more information visit : www.chitkara.edu.in

With over 3,000 founders, operators, investors, and ecosystem leaders, Doers Summit will bring the global startup community for two days of actionable insights

“Dubai is the next step in our evolution from hosting an event to creating a movement. Doers Summit exists to turn introductions into deals and playbooks into execution. After strong outcomes in recent editions, we are bringing that momentum to Dubai to help doers connect and form partnerships that deliver real impact,” said Stylianos Lambrou, CEO & Co-founder of The Doers Company.

A global line-up of innovators and founders
The Dubai edition features an impressive lineup of founders and thought leaders shaping the future of innovation. Confirmed speakers include Markus Fuhrmann, co-founder of Delivery Hero and investor; Jamil Shinawi, a nine-time exited founder and the CEO and co-founder of AHOY; Alisa Adel, Senior Director of Research and Technology at Airbus; Uri Levine, co-founder of Waze; Nikos Moraitakis, co-founder and CEO of Workable; and Demetris Skourides, Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology of the Republic of Cyprus.

The Dubai edition will spotlight outstanding Indian voices shaping policy, research, capital, and healthcare. Joining the stage are Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, former Union Cabinet Minister and global policy strategist; Prof. Milind D. Atrey, Deputy Director (Academics, Research & Translation) at IIT Bombay; Dr Huzaifa H. Khorakiwala, Executive Director of Wockhardt Limited and head of Wockhardt Foundation; Ameya Prabhu, Founder and CEO of NAFA Capital Group and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and Avinash Mudaliar, CEO & Co-Founder of HTLabs and OTTplay. Their perspectives strengthen the Summit’s bridge between India, the GCC, and global innovation hubs.

“This is a great opportunity for Indian startups to showcase their potential on the global stage and will certainly foster cross-border collaboration between India and the MENA region,” says Mudaliar.

Across three stages, the program focuses on what matters now in innovation. Attendees can access world-class sessions on building and scaling, with practical case studies, step-by-step playbooks, and candid Q&A sessions.

“Doers Summit is a snapshot of where the world is going. We designed the program for everyone who cares about what works. You will hear practical lessons, see emerging tech up close, and find your people in rooms designed for real conversations,” emphasized Dusan Duffek, Co-founder and Board Member of The Doers Company.

Where connections become outcomes
Designed with a festival-like atmosphere, Doers Summit makes it easy to meet the right people and turn conversations into tangible outcomes. Beyond the main stages, Dubai will come alive with a suite of networking experiences refined across past editions. Iconic venues across the city will host Doers in varied settings, from founder breakfasts and investor roundtables to rooftop salons and invite-only mixers.

Startup Spotlight and Doers Pitch will run at the heart of this experience. Doers Pitch allows selected startups to present in front of an investor jury and secure follow-up meetings. In recent editions, the program facilitated more than 50 follow-up meetings between startups and investors. Participation in Startup Spotlight unlocks pitching access and targeted exposure to investors and partners throughout the two-day program.

Tickets are now available for the Dubai edition
Founders, operators, investors, and ecosystem leaders can secure tickets with the best pricing with full access to the two-day program, side events, and expo zones, plus priority for programming updates and side-event invitations.

Tickets are available now via doerssummit.com/city/dubai.

About The Doers Company
The Doers Company (tDC) has a history of shaking up the status quo. Based in Cyprus, it’s the force behind the Doers Summit, which has grown into a cornerstone event for the EMEA startup ecosystem. With projects like Doers United, a global community of tech leaders, and Elevate Summit, a real estate and proptech event, tDC is committed to sparking innovation across industries and geographies.

About Doers Summit

Doers Summit is a global gathering of founders, investors, operators, and leaders who turn ideas into action. Hosted across key cities, it brings together ambitious doers to share insights, spark collaborations, and build relationships that last. The platform is currently active across three chapters – Athens, Limassol, and Dubai — with curated content and spaces designed for real connection.

JECRC MeitY Partnership: When Government and Academia Join Hands to Shape a New Era of Entrepreneurship

Under this landmark partnership, 12 of Rajasthan’s most promising startups will collectively receive funding support worth Rs. 1.8 crore.

The initiative is specially designed to strengthen the startup landscape of Rajasthan, with a focus on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

For the first time, prestigious national programs such as GENESIS and TIDE are being launched within a state-level technical university creating a “Shark Tank” like platform for emerging entrepreneurs to pitch and grow their ventures.

Startups will receive funding based on their stage of development from idea validation to prototyping and achieving market fit. A multi-level funding mechanism has been introduced to accelerate growth across these stages.

Under TIDE 2.0, four startups will receive grants of Rs. 7 lakh each. Additionally, under the GENESIS program, startups will be supported according to their maturity level up to Rs. 10 lakh for Early Idea (EIR), up to Rs. 40 lakh for MVP/Pilot Stage and up to Rs. 50 lakh for Investment/Scale-Up Stage.

The opportunity is exclusively open to Rajasthan-based startups including both individual innovators and DPIIT-registered startups with at least 51% Indian ownership.

The JECRC Incubation Centre not only extends financial assistance but also aims to create a transformative impact on the entrepreneurial landscape of smaller cities empowering startups from Rajasthan to compete on a global stage.

Over the past five years, JIC has supported more than 80 startups with cumulative funding exceeding Rs. 8 crore, along with providing state of the art facilities such as co-working space, investor connect, pilot connect and industry partnerships.

22nd HCL International Bridge Championship Wraps Up on a High Note

 

HCL International Bridge Championship draws over 146 teams from nearly 10 countries

• Team of Four Gold: Team WHAM from Australia won the Naresh Tandan Trophy for the Team of Four Gold event and received a prize money of Rs. 44 Lakh 
• Team of Four Silver: Nagpur VI won the Mohini Tandan Trophy for Team of Four Silver and received a prize money of Rs. 17 Lakh 
• Open Pairs-Gold: Christian Bakke - Tor Eivind Grude won the Neena Bonarji Trophy for the “Open Pairs- Gold” event and received a prize money of Rs. 12.8 Lakh 
• Open Pairs- Silver: Vinay Desai - Raju Tolani won the ‘Open Pairs- Silver’ event and received a prize money of Rs. 2 lakhs.
• Mixed IMP Mixed Pairs: Keyzad Anklesaria - Vidhya Patel won the IMP Pairs and received a prize money of Rs. 2 lakhs.
• IMP Pairs: Tatiana Nokhaeva - Aleksandr Platkov won the IMP Pairs event

Loop launches HealthFlex

Indian employers spend an average of INR 25,000–30,000 per employee annually on health benefits, yet nearly 90% of these allocations remain unused—locked in traditional insurance structures while employees continue to pay out-of-pocket for gyms, diagnostics, and consultations they actively use.

Unlike traditional broker platforms that offer variations of insurance coverage, HealthFlex converts employer allocations into digital health wallets with transparent balances. Employees select from life-stage benefit bundles—such as maternity care, chronic disease management, or preventive wellness—and access services through cashless, e-commerce-style transactions. The approach eliminates reimbursement delays and paper-based claims that typically suppress utilization.

Early adopters including Ola, Zepto, Livspace, ShareChat, Blu Pine, and Data Direct Networks report 30% upgrade rates, with participating employees averaging Rs. 18,000 in additional benefit utilization.

Loop Health is uniquely positioned as both an IRDAI-licensed Direct Broker managing group insurance and a healthcare provider with in-house doctors, 24×7 medical concierge, and partnerships with Cult.fit, Clove Dental, Orange Health, Redcliffe Labs, Lenskart, Newmi, and other healthcare vendors. This vertical integration eliminates the vendor fragmentation typical of traditional insurance companies, where employers must coordinate between separate insurance brokers, TPAs, wellness vendors, and healthcare providers—a process that typically requires Rs. 5-10 lakh in implementation fees and 3-6 months of HR bandwidth. With HealthFlex, the entire set-up is provided at no implementation cost to Loop's customers.

"The flex benefits market has grown 300%, but we've been solving the wrong problem," said Mayank Kale, CEO and Co-founder, Loop Health. "Legacy flex was designed by insurers to sell more coverage variations. HealthFlex empowers employees to direct their benefits where they're actually needed—health checkups for themselves, diabetes management for aging parents, fitness memberships for prevention. This is what benefits were always supposed to do.”

Following strong early adoption, Loop Health plans to expand HealthFlex availability to mid-market and enterprise organizations across India over the next 12 months.

About Loop Health

Founded in 2018, Loop Health combines IRDAI-licensed insurance brokerage with integrated healthcare delivery. The company serves 1,250+ organizations and one million lives across India and is backed by global investors including General Catalyst, Elevation Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Y Combinator.

At the 6th edition of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025 in Mumbai, Invest in Denmark and Copenhagen Fintech, in partnership with Startup Réseau, hosted a thematic interaction on “Green Fintech,” bringing together Danish and Indian stakeholders committed to driving sustainable innovation in financial services.

Launch of the report titled ‘Green Fintech – Denmark: Digital Solutions for a Sustainable Future’

The closed-door session convened policymakers, industry leaders, investors, ecosystem enablers, and high-growth ventures, all working at the intersection of sustainability and finance, to explore collaborative pathways that accelerate climate-aligned financial innovation.

The program began with an opening address by H.E. Rasmus Abildgaard Kristensen, Ambassador of Denmark to India, who spoke about Denmark’s commitment to driving global sustainability through collaboration. This was followed by Ulrik Nødgaard, Governor, Danmarks Nationalbank, who shared his perspectives on Denmark’s leadership in integrating climate considerations into financial regulation and policy.

A Special Address was delivered by Shri K. Rajaraman, Chairperson, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), on “India’s Global Financial Gateway: IFSCA’s Vision for Green and Innovative Finance.”

During the Global Fintech Fest 2025, Invest in Denmark and Copenhagen Fintech hosted a Climate FinTech Roundtable followed by the launch of a report titled ‘Green Fintech – Denmark: Digital Solutions for a Sustainable Future’. The report features several innovative startups and cluster organizations in both Denmark and India, with the aim of triggering conversations around collaboration between the two countries. It explores the convergence of technology and sustainability within the banking and financial services sector, aligning perfectly with the platform of Global Fintech Fest 2025, where Denmark was one of the Country Partners. 

The interactive discussion brought together participants across five clusters - Policy & Framework, Industry, Investors, Startups, and Ecosystem Enablers to capture diverse insights and recommendations.

Participants collectively agreed that regulatory alignment and clear policy signals are essential to mobilize private capital at scale and strengthen investor confidence in climate-aligned financial instruments. The dialogue emphasised that partnerships among banks, corporates, and Fintechs will be crucial in accelerating the transition to low-carbon business models, facilitating new forms of blended finance, and driving innovation throughout the global financial ecosystem.

Through its participation at the Global Fintech Fest 2025, Denmark aimed to position Nordic region as a strong and stable economic region, showcasing global leadership in Ethical AI and Quantum, cybersecurity, and growing capabilities in sustainability-driven Green Fintech and Climate Fintech. Denmark offers a strong, stable, investor friendly business environment making it an ideal launchpad into the Nordics. Recently enhanced air connectivity from both Delhi and Mumbai to Copenhagen augurs well for stronger collaboration.

About Copenhagen Fintech
Copenhagen Fintech is the leading innovation hub for financial technology in the Nordic region. Founded to accelerate the growth of fintech startups and foster collaboration between financial institutions, academia, and entrepreneurs, it supports companies driving innovation in areas such as ethical AI, green finance, digital inclusion, and climate-focused solutions. By bridging global fintech ecosystems, Copenhagen Fintech plays a pivotal role in positioning Denmark as a world leader in sustainable and technology-driven financial innovation.

For more information, visit- www.copenhagenfintech.dk

About the Consulate General of Denmark in Bangalore
The Consulate General of Denmark in Bangalore works to strengthen ties between Denmark and India by fostering impactful opportunities across industry, academia, and innovation. With a focus on green transition, life sciences, technology, and sustainable growth, the Consulate drives long-term partnerships and mutual success. Its three key teams—The Trade Council, Innovation Centre Denmark, and Invest in Denmark—collaborate to support Danish companies in India, connect industries and startups for cutting-edge innovation, and assist Indian companies in expanding into Denmark and the Nordic region. Together, they build a future of shared progress, driving economic diplomacy, innovation, and sustainability between the two nations.

For more information, visit- indien.um.dk/en/about-us 

About the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark promotes Denmark’s interests abroad by fostering international cooperation, trade, and investment. Through a global network of embassies, consulates, and trade offices, the Ministry supports Danish companies in building partnerships and expanding internationally, while also strengthening bilateral and multilateral relationships. Its efforts are closely aligned with Denmark’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and global collaboration.

For more information, visit- um.dk/en 

Breakin' Brew

What started as a creative vision to merge pop culture with culinary innovation has now grown into a fast-expanding cafe chain with three operational outlets located at Ambience Mall in Gurugram, Karkardooma in Anand Vihar and M3M IFC in Manesar, while a fourth outlet launching soon.

At Breakin’ Brew, the boundaries between science and food blur — just like Walter White in the show turned high school chemistry into an empire, Breakin’ Brew turns the art of coffee into an immersive, high-concept experience. The cafe invites patrons into a world where brewing is theatrical, coffee is experimental, and every sip tells a story.

Harsh Gupta - Founder of Breakin' Brew

Shares Harsh Gupta, “We didn’t just want to open another coffee shop. We wanted to create an environment that transports people into a universe they know and love, while offering world-class coffee and comfort food. Every detail — from the beaker-shaped glasses to the lab-inspired interiors — is meant to thrill, surprise, and connect.”

More than just a cafe, Breakin’ Brew is a destination — one that has quickly become a favourite for fans of the show as well as food enthusiasts. The interiors are a visual tribute to the Breaking Bad universe — think chemistry lab aesthetics, themed artwork, and a colour palette inspired by the show’s most iconic moments.

The menu is just as diverse and daring: from handcrafted coffees and molecular drinks to a robust food selection featuring pizzas, burgers, pastas, platters and decadent desserts.

Each beverage and dish is crafted with scientific precision and a creative edge, delivering both flavour and flair.

The cafe is also known for its Instagrammable moments - from smoky drinks served in lab equipment to neon signs quoting legendary lines from the show. It’s a perfect blend of drama and dining, where nostalgia meets novelty.

With its growing footprint and buzz-worthy concept, Breakin’ Brew is setting a new benchmark for themed cafes in India. It’s not just about fandom — it’s about creating a multi-sensory coffeehouse experience that is as engaging as it is delicious. Whether you're a loyal follower of the Breaking Bad series or someone simply seeking a one-of-a-kind cafe experience, Breakin’ Brew offers something truly original — an escape from the ordinary, brewed with imagination.

For more details, visit www.breakinbrew.com/

Follow Breakin’ Brew on Instagram - www.instagram.com/breakinbrew/?hl=en

The application period for 'Pitch Point' is open till October 20, 2025
 

LTF is giving an opportunity to AI startups that are in their early to growth stage to present their solutions, applicable for any BFSI or Non-BFSI domains, to a panel of Venture Capitalist, LTF’s senior management, and industry experts at RAISE’ 25. Two winners will be eligible for prize money of Rs. 25 Lakhs each. In addition, winners will get an opportunity to engage in discussion with LTF, or with any of the L&T Group companies identified by LTF, to explore a PoC, as well as to engage in discussion with L&T Innovation Fund, the venture capital arm of Larsen & Toubro, regarding potential equity funding.

Mr. Sudipta Roy, Managing Director & CEO at LTF, said, “Given L&T Finance's sharp focus on leveraging next-gen AI technologies to transform our lending business, this competition is a significant step towards identifying, mentoring, and investing in the next set of game-changing startups. The launch of ‘Pitch Point’ underscores our commitment to fostering innovation and exploring the broader applications of AI, discovering new solutions that can deliver value not only in the BFSI space but also across multiple industries."
 

The product offering that will be evaluated at ‘Pitch Point’ must align with one of the domains that synergises with any of the LTF’s or L&T Group Company’s current and future offerings, namely, Cyber Security & Fraud Prevention, Rural & Agri Fintech, Gen AI Application, Embedded Finance Solutions, Smart Contract & Blockchain Solutions, Alternate Data Based Lending Solutions, AI-Driven Credit Scoring & Risk Assessment, Regulatory Technology & Compliance Tools, Digital Financial & Robo-Advisors, AI-Powered Collections & Recovery Solutions, Agentic AI for Enterprise, Image Processing and Recognition, and AI Geospatial and Remote Sensing.

LTF encourages eligible startups to apply online by submitting the registration form along with their pitch deck and product demo link. Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a virtual interaction round, and five finalists will then be selected to present live at RAISE’ 25.

The jury members for Pitch Point are Mr. Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Peak XV Partners & Surge, Ms. Tanusree Deb Barma, IAS, Deputy Director General, UIDAI Technology Centre, Bengaluru, Mr. Piyush Shah, Co-founder, InMobi and President, Glance, Ms. Sushma Kaushik, Head, L&T Innovation Fund, Mr. Arpit Agarwal, Investment Partner, Blume Ventures, and Dr. Debarag Banerjee, Chief AI & Data Officer, LTF. 

The application period for this program is open till October 20, 2025. The final shortlist is set to be announced on November 1, 2025. The program culminates in a final event at RAISE' 25 on November 7, 2025, which will be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai.

Link to the ‘Pitch Point’ page:

www.ltfraise.com/event/4d429b6b-d104-434b-a315-62437285911d/pitch-point

For any questions pertaining to the application process, eligible companies can contact the organising team at raise.pitchpoint2025@ltfs.com.

About RAISE’ 25
LTF's RAISE’ 25 is an AI-focused event centered on the theme "Accelerating Financial Services with AI." The conference offers a unique and comprehensive exploration of AI through its three-pronged approach: Accelerated, Applied, and Advanced. Attendees will unlock future trends with industry and tech leaders, get hands-on experience in the Generative and Predictive AI zones, and track real-time case studies on custom AI solutions. Building on the success of the inaugural RAISE’ 24, which convened over 4,500 virtual and in-person participants - including regulatory leaders, unicorn startups, deep tech firms, and representatives from media, the second edition is set to provide even more invaluable insights from the AI pioneers.

Find more information at www.ltfraise.com.

About L&T Finance Ltd. (LTF)
L&T Finance Ltd. (LTF) (www.LTFINANCE.com) formerly known as L&T Finance Holdings Ltd., (LTFH) is a leading Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), offering a range of financial products and services. Headquartered in Mumbai, the Company has been rated ‘AAA’ - the highest credit rating - by four leading domestic rating agencies. S&P Global Ratings has recently upgraded LTF long-term Issuer Credit Rating to “BBB/Stable” from “BBB-/Positive” and short-term issuer credit rating to “A-2” from “A-3”. Fitch Ratings has assigned LTF Long-Term Foreign and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings of “BBB-” with a Stable outlook. It has also received leadership scores and ratings by global and national Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rating providers for its sustainability performance. The Company has been certified as a Great Place To Work® and has also won many prestigious awards for its flagship CSR project – “Digital Sakhi”- which focuses on women's empowerment and digital and financial inclusion. Under Right to Win, being in the ‘right businesses’ has helped the Company become one of the leading financiers in key Retail products. The Company is focused on creating a top-class, digitally enabled, Retail finance company as part of the Lakshya 2026 plan. The goal is to move the emphasis from product focus to customer focus and establish a robust Retail portfolio with quality assets, thus creating a Fintech@Scale while keeping ESG at the core. Fintech@Scale is one of the pillars of the Company’s strategic roadmap - Lakshya 2026. The Company has over 2.6 Crore customer database, which is being leveraged to cross-sell, up-sell, and identify new customers.
 

X: x.com/LnTFinance

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LnTFS

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/lntfinance

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lntfinance

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ltfinance

Anand Balaji, Co-Founder and CEO, Xflow

For Indian exporters, ensuring compliance with foreign inward remittances is time-consuming, fragmented across banks, and prone to errors. Compliance Desk standardizes the process across purpose codes, bank templates, and document formats, significantly reducing delays and back-and-forth with financial institutions.

The payment service operates through regulatorily compliant payment rails. Once the transaction is concluded, Xflow’s partner bank (an authorised dealer 1 bank) issues an official payment advice. This document, available on the exporter’s Xflow dashboard, supports the issuance of e-FIRCs, BRCs, or IRMs by the merchants’ respective banks. Where additional paperwork is required, Xflow automatically provides bank-specific forms to streamline processing and proactively assists the exporters.

“Managing compliance is essential, but it often takes time and energy away from growth,” said Anand Balaji, Co-Founder and CEO of Xflow. “Every international payment comes with its own set of bank requirements, paperwork, and follow-ups. For exporters, this creates unnecessary delays and frustration, when their focus should be on building markets and serving customers. With Xflow’s Compliance Desk, we bring together our technology platform, regulatory expertise, and hands-on support to make the entire process seamless. Our goal is to give exporters the confidence that compliance is taken care of, while they concentrate on expanding their business globally.”

This initiative builds on Xflow’s recent FX AI Analyst launch, which helps businesses optimize treasury functions. Together, these solutions position Xflow as one of India’s most comprehensive platforms for exporters navigating global payments.

One of Xflow’s clients shared, “The Xflow team provided exceptional support at every step of the process. Thanks to their guidance, we were able to get our eFIRC issued smoothly by our bank, without any confusion. Our experience with Xflow has been exceptional while moving funds from the US to India.”

About Xflow

Xflow - a leading fintech offering cross-border payments for SMEs (ITES & Funded Startups). Designed to eliminate inefficiencies in international transactions, Xflow offers a seamless, transparent, and fully compliant payment experience for businesses of all sizes - from freelancers and startups to large-scale enterprises. The company is currently servicing over 12,000 businesses & has processed hundreds of millions of dollars.

SaveSage, India’s leading AI-driven platform for credit card and loyalty programs optimisation, today announced the appointment of Bhavesh Gupta as Senior Advisor and Anchor Investor.

SaveSage Welcomes Paytm Ex-COO Bhavesh Gupta as Senior Advisor and Anchor Investor

Bhavesh previously was President & COO at Paytm helping it scale financial services and payments to dominant position. Before that, he led Clix Capital (a leading NBFC) as its founding CEO and had senior roles at IDFC First Bank and ICICI Bank in areas of retail banking in a career spanning over 27 years.

His appointment comes at a critical moment for India’s credit card market. The country has over 112 million^ credit cards across 75 million* unique users, yet more than 50%** of reward points go unredeemed each year due to low awareness or complicated redemption processes.  SaveSage is tackling this challenge through its AI-driven platform that helps users seamlessly track, manage, and maximise rewards.

Bhavesh Gupta said, "The credit card and loyalty rewards space in India is at an inflection point. With increased rewards awareness, evolving customer preferences, and digital adoption, SaveSage is poised for exponential growth. The opportunity to help users derive maximum value from their credit cards and loyalty programs is massive, and I’m excited to partner with the team to shape this journey."

Ashish Lath, Founder & CEO of SaveSage, said, "We are thrilled to have Bhavesh Sir guide us as we scale our efforts to empower users across India. His experience and strategic insights will help us deepen our impact and ensure that users are not just using their credit cards for expenses, but optimising them intelligently. With over 200,000 users already leveraging our platform, his guidance will enable us to hyperscale and bring even more value to our community."

Since launching in October 2024, the SaveSage app has already grown to 200,000 users, ranging from students to professionals to UHNIs, and is on track to reach 1 million users by March 2026. With Bhavesh’s guidance, SaveSage is doubling down on its mission to make every credit card in India work harder for its users.

About SaveSage

SaveSage is a mobile application that empowers users to track, manage, and maximize the value of their credit cards and loyalty program reward points. Launched in October 2024, SaveSage has quickly scaled to over 200,000 users and is on track to reach one million by March 2026. With a 4.8 rating on the Google Play Store, SaveSage is trusted by a fast-growing community of savvy consumers. The company is backed by leading investors including DSP Family Office, iSeed, Atrium Ventures, LV Fund, and prominent angels such as Bhavesh Gupta, Dr. Shriram Nene, Ravi Narayanan amongst others.

To know more, visit www.savesage.club

^As per RBI monthly data release for July 2025

*SaveSage internal estimates

**SaveSage Credit Card Survey 2025

Zen Mobility launches Pico and Pixi Pod

Over the past year, Zen Mobility’s three-wheeler Micro Pod has been adopted by platforms including Zomato, Blinkit, Porter, Flipkart, Amazon, and Delhivery. Developed over seven years, the Micro Pod addressed practical challenges in ‘large order’ deliveries, providing an alternative to overloaded two-wheelers and underutilised vans. From concept to category-creator: Zen Micro Pods have logged 8.5 million+ km in just two years, completing over 5.6 million deliveries.

The launch of Pixi Pod and Pico Pod comes at a time of rapid change in urban transport and delivery patterns. These vehicles are built for durability and practical use, aiming to serve personal mobility and urban logistics networks in the future.

Product Highlights

Pixi Pod

• The Urban Workhorse: Sleek two-wheeler designed for personal use, shared mobility, or light cargo transport.

• Capacity: Passenger 1+1 or 1+light cargo box | Battery: 2.3 kWh swappable LFP | Speed: up to 45 km/hr | Range: 80-100 km

• Starting Price: Rs. 65,000

Pico Pod

• The Ultimate Delivery Beast: Next-Gen two-wheeler designed for heavier loads and enhanced stability

• Capacity: Rider + Cargo (up to 50kg) | Battery: 3.8 kWh swappable LFP | Speed: up to 45 km/hr | Range: 80–100 km | Cargo volume: 15 cu. ft.

• Starting Price: Rs. 1,11,000

Both vehicles include suspension systems, LED lighting, and options for refrigerated or insulated cargo boxes for food, pharma, and cold-chain deliveries.

Commenting on the launch, Namit Jain, CEO and Founder of Zen Mobility, said, “Consumers today expect fast deliveries, convenience, and affordability—it’s no longer a luxury, it’s the standard. With our new Pico Pod and Pixi Pod, we’re introducing vehicles that are nimble, long-lasting, and highly affordable—built to support the gig economy, personal mobility, and last-mile delivery networks. Our approach is simple: deliver the highest quality and reliability at the lowest cost. These vehicles reflect that promise. Designed for India with global potential, they cater to the evolving needs of our domestic market while also serving the fast-growing regions in the MENA and Southeast Asia. At Zen, this isn’t just the launch of new vehicles—it’s the start of a mobility movement: making sustainable, efficient, and dependable transport accessible to all, while shaping the future of urban commerce worldwide.”

Availability

Pre-bookings open 25 September 2025, with deliveries starting 7 October 2025 through Zen Mobility’s official channels and authorized partners across major urban centers in India.

About Zen Mobility

Zen Mobility is a visionary electric vehicle company committed to redefining sustainable mobility in India. Focused on innovation, design, and impact, Zen develops tailored EV solutions that empower businesses, reduce emissions, and transform urban transportation. From purpose-built logistics vehicles to smart personal mobility solutions, Zen is accelerating India’s transition to a cleaner, greener, and more efficient future.

Tetra Pak start-up challenge winner, ZUMI, launches Lactose-Free, No Refined Sugar Milkshakes

ZUMI is one of the winners of Startup Challenge 2024 by Tetra Pak India, in partnership with Startup India, an initiative aimed at fostering innovation in India’s F&B ecosystem. Through the programme, Zumi received comprehensive support in product development, mentorship, and commercialization, along with access to Tetra Pak’s Product Development Centre in Chakan for hands-on assistance in product formulation and testing.

The milkshakes come in three delectable flavours inspired by the Indian desserts including Rose Kulfi, Rasmalai, and Chocolate- catering to varied palates across the country. Packaged in convenient, hygienic, ready-to-drink Tetra Pak packaging, Zumi’s milkshakes are designed for today’s on-the-go consumer, with each 200ml package serving delivers 6–7 grams of protein.

Lactose-Free Formula for Everyone

Lactose-free milk delivers the same rich nutritional profile as regular milk, while being easier to digest. This makes it a smarter everyday choice for a spectrum of consumers - from fitness enthusiasts, schoolchildren, and working professionals, to individuals with digestive sensitivities, and anyone seeking a healthier lifestyle. Milk is a dietary staple in India, and nearly 30% of consumers recognize their lactose intolerance—despite studies indicating that up to 70% may actually be affected. Zumi’s products are thoughtfully crafted to meet these varied dietary needs, transforming everyday indulgences into healthier, functional choices—without compromising on taste or experience.

Naturally Sweeter, Makes for a Dessert with No Guilt
Lactose-free milk is made by adding lactase [naturally occurring enzyme], which breaks down lactose into simpler sugars (glucose and galactose), making it naturally sweeter than regular milk. Combining lactose-free milk with natural zero GI sweeteners like monk fruit gives ZUMI Milkshakes it’s creamy rich taste which makes these milkshakes an ideal alternative to calorie-heavy desserts. Perfect when served straight from the pack, or even as a base for smoothies and healthy dessert recipes, Zumi’s shakes bring convenience, nutrition and delectable flavour to the table.

Commenting on the launch, Thapasya Vijayaraghavan, Founder, Zumi Foods, said, “We are excited to serve the ever-conscious Indian consumer with our clean, lactose-free, no refined sugar milkshakes and redefine how India snacks and indulges. At ZUMI, our vision is to make better-for-you indulgence a joyful, guilt-free choice for everyone, combining nutrition with exceptional taste. Lactose-free milk retains all the nutrition of regular milk while being gentler on the gut and naturally sweeter, making it a healthier choice for everyone-not just those with lactose intolerance. With the extraordinary support and mentorship of Tetra Pak and Startup India, we’ve transformed our vision into reality-redefining indulgence in India-where taste meets health, without compromise.”

Cassio Simoes, MD, Tetra Pak South Asia, added, “At Tetra Pak, we see it as our responsibility as an industry leader to nurture India’s food and beverage ecosystem. Zumi brings a refreshing perspective to India’s beverage space, combining functionality and flavour, and we are delighted to have supported their journey from concept to shelf through our Startup Challenge—providing access to our global expertise, infrastructure, and mentorship. As we continue to collaborate with promising entrepreneurs, our goal is to build a stronger, more sustainable F&B ecosystem that benefits consumers, startups, and the industry.”

Sanjiv Singh, Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Startup India said, “India’s startup ecosystem has become one of the most dynamic in the world, with over 180,000+ recognised startups across 770+ districts (as of August 2025). Nearly 52% of them are from tier-2 and 3 cities.

Home-grown startups are therefore in a unique position to combine global best practices with local insights, creating products that resonate with modern Indian consumers and push India’s reputation as a hub for food & beverage innovation. We are proud to support initiatives like Tetra Pak’s Start-Up Challenge and remain committed to fostering an ecosystem where these startups can scale, generate meaningful employment, and help India capture even greater value from its innovation landscape.”

With the launch of its no refined sugar, lactose-free milkshakes, Zumi Foods is setting a new benchmark for healthy indulgence in India. Over the coming year, the brand aims to expand its footprint across more cities, introduce new flavours, in paper-based Tetra Pak packaging - continuing its mission to make functional, clean-label beverages accessible to all.

Know more about Tetra Pak’s technology here: Tetra Pak - lactose-free milk production.

About Zumi Foods

Zumi Foods is a Hyderabad-based startup redefining everyday dairy with its range of lactose-free, no refined sugar, protein-rich, clean-label milkshakes. Founded by a young entrepreneur, Thapasya Vijay, who discovered her own lactose intolerance, the brand was born out of a need to create indulgent yet functional alternatives in a country where dairy beverages is a staple. Over time, she realized that lactose-free milk isn’t just for lactose intolerant, it can be gentler on the gut, naturally sweeter, and a healthier choice for everyone. With flavours inspired by India’s culinary heritage and crafted for the modern, health-conscious consumer, Zumi Foods is on a mission to make smarter, healthier indulgence accessible to all.

Hon’ble Union Minister of Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, made the formal announcement at an event held in Delhi

The allocation positions BharatGen as the foremost beneficiary of the Rs. 1,500 crore IndiaAI Mission 2025, highlighting its central role in building India’s sovereign AI ecosystem.

The funding will help BharatGen create powerful AI models, including Large Language and Multimodal Models with up to one trillion parameters, as well as smaller models designed for specific uses. It will also boost the development of India-focused technologies like text-to-speech, speech recognition, and vision-language tools. The models are expected to support real-world applications across key areas such as agriculture, governance, finance, healthcare, and education. To make this possible, BharatGen will train the models on advanced supercomputing clusters, while also setting aside resources for other essential needs.

Earlier this year, BharatGen launched Param-1, a bilingual LLM with 2.9 billion parameters, pretrained on 5 trillion tokens in English and Hindi. The next phase will expand to multilingual and multimodal AI systems across all 22 scheduled Indian languages, ensuring equitable access for every citizen. The BharatGen consortium includes leading institutions such as IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIIT Hyderabad, IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Mandi, IIM Indore, IIIT Delhi, and IIT Kharagpur, strengthening the mission’s collaborative foundation.

Sharing his excitement on the announcement, Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan, IIT Bombay & Principal Investigator stated, “The allocation will empower BharatGen to advance its foundational models, strengthen India’s AI infrastructure, drive enterprise adoption, and enable developers through our Sovereign AI stack, while ensuring inclusive access across the country’s diverse linguistic and cultural landscape. As a national sovereign AI ecosystem, BharatGen brings together a consortium of dedicated faculty members committed to this vision.”

Commenting on the development, Rishi Bal, Executive Vice President, BharatGen stated, “This landmark allocation by MeitY signals India’s resolve to build sovereign AI at scale. With BharatGen, we are laying the foundations of an AI ecosystem that reflects the diversity of our nation while advancing India’s leadership in the global technology landscape.”

Prof Abhay Karandikar, Secretary DST also expressed his enthusiasm, "I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire BharatGen team for this well-deserved support by India AI Mission for scaling the technology. It's truly inspiring to witness the remarkable scale and speed of the progress that the BharatGen team has achieved. We at the Department of Science & Technology are proud to have been a part of the revolutionary journey for sovereign LLM and we are confident that with this 'whole of government' approach, BharatGen is poised for an even brighter and greater future."

Professor Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay stated, "At IIT Bombay, we are very happy to host BharatGen as a National Sovereign AI Ecosystem that works laterally across academia and industry. It is to the credit of Team BharatGen’s leadership of Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan and Mr. Rishi Bal that IIT Bombay will play a central role in India’s sovereign AI journey. We are extremely grateful to the India AI Mission, MeitY and the Department of Science and Technology for helping set up this initiative through BharatGen."

Mr. Krishnan, Secretary MeitY states, “I am delighted to see BharatGen taking on the crucial responsibility of developing a sovereign GenAI stack for our nation. The India AI mission is delighted to facilitate their effort through 988.6 Cr of funding over 1 year to build LLM models in the range of 1 trillion parameters. This unique consortium has set a good precedent for effectively bridging the gap between academic research and downstream applications. We are proud to see this completely government-funded mission thriving in its goal to build a robust Gen AI ecosystem for India. We are looking up to Team BharatGen to make a mark globally as India’s Sovereign AI.”

BharatGen is led by Rishi Bal, Executive Vice President, and Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan, IIT Bombay, Principal Investigator. Their combined leadership bridges cutting-edge academic rigor with enterprise-scale execution.

About BharatGen

BharatGen is a pioneering initiative by the BharatGen Consortium, envisioned as a comprehensive suite of Generative AI technologies designed to serve India’s diverse socio-cultural, linguistic, and industrial needs. Anchored under the Technology Innovation Hub (TIH), IIT Bombay, and supported by the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, BharatGen is the nation’s first government-funded Multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) project. The initiative is developing inclusive and efficient AI across 22 Indian languages, integrating text, speech, and images to create robust AI solutions built for India’s realities.

Mohit Kamboj, CEO, Aspect Global Ventures and Former National President, IBJA outlines reforms, consumer assurance, and future opportunities for India in bullion markets
 

One of the most significant structural changes this year has been the reduction of import duties 6% on refined gold and 5.35% on gold doré. This reform, hailed as the most consequential in a decade, has curbed smuggling, encouraged legal imports, and strengthened transparency in the retail ecosystem. Alongside, regulatory measures such as hallmarking of 9K gold and the extension of HUID-based hallmarking to silver are reinforcing consumer trust by ensuring product quality and minimizing disputes.
 

Institutional infrastructure is also maturing. The India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) has expanded into silver and gold futures, providing exporters and jewellers with vital hedging tools while gradually positioning India as a participant in global price discovery. If participation deepens, IIBX could be a critical lever in shifting India’s role from a price taker to a price influencer on the global stage.
 

“India has already made path-breaking reforms that put the bullion industry on a transparent and resilient basis. If we persist with disciplined policy implementation, hallmarking, risk management, and extended use of infrastructure such as IIBX, India can not only withstand global pressures but also emerge as a reliable leader in bullion markets worldwide,” said Mohit Kamboj, CEO, Aspect Global Ventures and Former National President of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA).

Key words: Mohit Kamboj, Aspect Global Ventures, Aspect Bullion & Refinery, Mohit Kamboj Bharatiya

BotLab Dynamics celebrates PM Narendra Modi’s 75th birthday across India with Multi-City Drone Shows

The PM Modi Birthday Drone Show, designed and executed by BotLab Dynamics, an IIT Delhi Startup, showcased the scale, precision, and vision of India’s homegrown drone technology. For the first time ever, four cities witnessed coordinated multi-city drone shows, making this celebration as iconic as the leader it honored. The showcase proved that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), once seen primarily through the lens of defense, are now redefining entertainment and public celebrations in India at an unprecedented scale.

About the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Birthday Drone Show
The formations carried deep symbolic significance. A glowing portrait of Prime Minister Modi opened the show, followed by the Indian Map and Globe, reflecting India’s expanding global influence. The fighter jet salute symbolized national defence and pride, while the commanding Made in India lion embodied Atmanirbhar Bharat. This formation was especially significant as every drone in the performance was designed and manufactured in India by BotLab Dynamics.

The journey continued with depictions of Digital India and Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, cornerstones of Modi Ji’s leadership. This was followed by a powerful formation of the Prime Minister as “The People’s Champion” - addressing the nation as a visionary leader who has driven India’s development while honoring its rich history and cultural roots.

From there, the skies transitioned to the image of a Global Leader through “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - One World, One Family,” symbolizing India’s role in uniting the world. The show culminated in the message “Happy Birthday Modi Ji – From Citizens of India,” creating a deeply emotional and unifying moment across all four cities.

These Prime Minister Birthday Drone Shows demonstrated that India now leads in deploying drone technology for large-scale celebrations, setting a benchmark for the world in how technology can honor leadership, culture, and collective pride.

About the Drone Show Company
Speaking on the achievement, a BotLab Dynamics spokesperson said, “We are proud that this tribute, made possible with our drones designed and built in India, reflects the spirit of Atmanirbharta, that our PM supports. This achievement would not have been possible without the support of the Government of India, and we see it as an opportunity to showcase India’s innovation on the global stage.”

Another spokesperson highlighted “This show came to us just last Saturday, and in three days our team pulled off four simultaneous drone shows at this scale….honestly, we’re amazed ourselves. No one else in India could have taken this on in terms of tech, scale, or ambition. If we hadn’t said yes, it simply wouldn’t have happened.”

The IIT startup is best known for working with brands like Mercedes, Zomato, TATA, Mahindra etc. They have also performed drone shows in India for events like Mahakumbh 2025, IPL, ICC Cricket World Cup, IIFA, National Games, Ayodhya Deepotsav, Beating Retreat etc. In 2024, the company also secured five Guinness World Records during the Amaravati Drone Summit, cementing its reputation as India’s leader in drone light shows.

Click here to learn more about the company: www.botlabdynamics.com

Show Locations: Delhi (Yamuna Ghatt), Mumbai (Wankhede Stadium), Bengaluru (RBNMS Ground), and Ahmedabad (Sabarmati Riverfront).